Key Points

The fire, which broke out on September 26 at the National Information Resources Service (NIRS) in Daejeon, disrupted a wide range of public services, impacting daily government operations nationwide.

As of 6 p.m. on Monday, approximately 24.3 per cent of the affected services, 157 out of 647, were back online, according to the central disaster response headquarters, as per Yonhap news agency.

Among the restored services is the Onnara System, the government-wide intranet used across public offices for internal communication and document management.

Officials said they are speeding up efforts to bring remaining services back online.

A critical part of that plan involves relocating 96 systems that were directly damaged in the fire to a separate national data centre in Daegu, located approximately 235 kilometres southeast of Seoul. The transfer is expected to be completed by Tuesday, according to the Yonhap news agency.

The fire was caused by the explosion of a lithium-ion battery inside a server room on the fifth floor of the NIRS facility. It was fully extinguished the following day, but not before causing significant damage to core infrastructure.

The government shut down 647 online systems as a preemptive measure to safeguard the systems after the fire caused temperature and humidity control malfunctions that can lead to overheating.

Of the affected services, 436 are public programs and 211 are intranet systems for government officials.

Meanwhile, the city is facing congestion with heavy traffic on Monday, as millions of people either continued their Chuseok celebrations or began the long journey home after visiting family, Yonhap News Agency reported.

Chuseok, often referred to as Korea's version of Thanksgiving, is a major harvest festival celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar -- this year falling on October 6.

It's a time when families traditionally gather to honour their ancestors, share special meals, and spend time together. For many, it's also one of the rare chances each year to travel back to their hometowns, as per the Yonhap news agency.

- ANI