Lee Presides Over Central Disaster Headquarters Meeting on National Intelligence Resources Fire on the 28th
Criticizes: "Promised recovery in three hours, but still not restored after two days"
Orders restoration of public welfare systems "even if it takes all night"
President Lee Jae-myung is speaking at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting related to the fire at the National Intelligence Resources Management Agency held at the Central Disaster Situation Room of the Government Seoul Office on the 28th. Photo by Yonhap News
President Lee Jae-myung apologized to the public for the inconvenience caused by the fire at the National Intelligence Resources Management Agency. He pointed out the need for an investigation into why countermeasures had not yet been established, despite a network failure occurring in 2023, and instructed that public welfare-related systems must be restored "even if it takes working through the night."
On the 28th, presiding over a Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting regarding the fire at the National Intelligence Resources Management Agency, held at the Central Disaster Situation Room of the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, President Lee said, "The public has suffered significant inconvenience and anxiety due to this fire," and added, "As the person ultimately responsible for state affairs, I sincerely apologize."
During the meeting, President Lee expressed his concern about the lack of preparedness. He said, "What is surprising is that in 2023, a large-scale network failure also caused significant damage, and there are observations that the circumstances of this fire are very similar. A thorough investigation is needed to determine whether neglecting the protection of core national networks for two years has led to this massive disruption."
President Lee further criticized, "For such critical backbone networks, it is only natural to maintain a dual-operation system that can respond immediately to external disruptions, but it is shocking that such a system does not exist. I heard there was a bold claim that recovery would be completed within three hours, but not only has it not been restored in three hours, it has not been restored even after two days."
Lee: "Restore public welfare systems as quickly as possible, even if it takes all night"
President Lee Jae-myung is speaking at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting related to the fire at the National Intelligence Resources Management Agency held at the Central Disaster Situation Room of the Government Seoul Office on the 28th. Photo by Yonhap News
President Lee also stated, "It was predictable that problems could arise in the government's network, so countermeasures should have been established at our own expense if necessary. This was a foreseeable issue, yet there were no countermeasures-not that they failed to work, but that they did not exist at all," he reiterated.
He also announced plans for a comprehensive inspection of other national backbone networks. President Lee said, "I thought that as long as we operated under the assumption that the national system would function, we could manage well and develop better policies, but there are operational issues everywhere. I urge that safety and security facilities be investigated as quickly as possible from the ground up, starting from scratch, to ensure there are no problems."
Meanwhile, President Lee said, "With Chuseok approaching, there will be an increase in mail, parcel deliveries, and financial transactions. I ask the relevant ministries to make every effort to minimize inconvenience and confusion by restoring operations. I hope that the restoration of important public welfare systems will be carried out as quickly as possible, even if it means working through the night."
The meeting was attended by Kim Yongbeom, Chief Policy Officer of the Presidential Office, Wi Sung-rak, Chief Security Officer of the Presidential Office, as well as other presidential aides, Prime Minister Kim Minseok, government officials, and mayors and deputy mayors from local governments.
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