With regard to the fire that broke out on the 26th at the Daejeon headquarters of the National Information Resources Service (NIRS) in Daejeon, where the nation's key computer systems are concentrated, the NIRS is giving conflicting explanations. Depending on the NIRS official, different answers are being given about the timing of the introduction of the lithium-ion batteries—an element that can pinpoint the cause of the fire—and whether the power was cut before work began. Critics say the NIRS has not even properly established the basic facts related to the fire.
On the 27th, Lee Jae-yong, head of the National Information Resources Service, said in a call with ChosunBiz, "The lithium-ion batteries (in the uninterruptible power supply batteries and UPS where the fire occurred) were introduced 9 years ago." According to Lee, that means the lithium-ion batteries were introduced in 2016.
However, this conflicts with what Jeong Gwang-yong, head of facility operations at the NIRS, said during a Q&A session held that morning with Kim Ki-seon, head of the Daejeon Yuseong-gu emergency response control team, and Lee Sang-min, director of operations planning at the NIRS. Asked whether they had considered a method to separate the batteries and servers, Jeong, the facility operations chief, answered, "The lithium-ion batteries are products introduced in 2010."
According to the battery industry, UPS supply contracts usually run for 10 years. Accordingly, the UPS supplier is responsible for maintenance only for the 10-year contract period. The battery industry says the lithium-ion batteries used in the NIRS's UPS are products from LG Energy Solution, supplied to corporations that manufacture UPS between 2012 and 2013. The company that made the UPS equipment supplied the UPS to the NIRS around 2014. If the industry's explanation is correct, the 10-year contract has ended, and responsibility for UPS maintenance rests with the NIRS. However, the NIRS cannot even pinpoint when the UPS batteries were supplied.
There are also conflicting explanations about whether the power was cut before transferring the UPS. Lee, the operations planning director, said, "It was dangerous to have the UPS (together with the servers) in the data center, so we were working to physically separate them by moving the UPS underground," adding, "We disconnected the cables and cut the power. We believe a spark occurred due to some situation after the power was cut, causing the fire."
However, an NIRS official who responded to a Yonhap News Agency query said, "If a fire breaks out when the UPS batteries are in the data center together, it can greatly affect the IT equipment, so we were separating them in stages," adding, "A sudden spark occurred while cutting the power and loosening the cables at the terminals."
According to the battery industry, when transferring lithium-ion batteries for UPS, the power must be cut first. Because a UPS uses direct current rather than the alternating current used in ordinary homes, suddenly disconnecting cables while the power is connected can cause a sharp voltage spike and a fire. If the investigation finds that the fire occurred with the power off, a battery defect could carry more weight; but if the power was not cut first, responsibility could be assigned to the contractor or the worker who performed the job.
The National Fire Agency plans to conduct a joint investigation into the cause of the fire with the National Forensic Service and the police as soon as the scene is cleared.
Meanwhile, an official at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety confirmed, "The UPS equipment was installed in Aug. 2014. The warranty period has passed by 1 year."