South Korea’s government is facing backlash for pushing strict disaster-response rules on private companies while overlooking its own shaky tech setup. The rules hit even streaming giants like Netflix and everyday apps like Samsung Health, even though they’re not core to public safety.
According to a report from the science ministry shared with a ruling party lawmaker, 29 companies must roll out mandatory telecom disaster plans by next year. That list includes 11 telecom carriers that handle key network infrastructure, plus 10 “value-added” service providers. These providers qualify if they have over 10 million daily users or make up at least 2 percent of the country’s internet traffic.
Big names like Naver, Kakao, Google, Netflix, and Coupang all fall under these new mandates. Critics slam the move as overkill, especially for streaming platforms that don’t play a direct role in emergencies like hospital communications or police alerts.
The push comes after a major 2022 fire at a data center in Pangyo, south of Seoul, knocked out Kakao’s services and caused widespread chaos. Officials hoped to prevent future outages by tightening rules on private firms.
But now, the spotlight’s on the government’s hypocrisy. Just last Friday, a fire ripped through the National Information Resources Service (NIRS) server center in Daejeon, crippling administrative services across the board. Turns out, the government’s system lacked a basic cloud-based disaster recovery plan—something they’ve demanded from businesses.
Experts point out this isn’t the first wake-up call. Back in 2018, a fire at KT’s Ahyeon facility in Seoul triggered a huge network outage. Critics say South Korea’s leaders haven’t learned from these South Korea data center fires or telecom disruptions, leaving everyday services vulnerable.
The report, covered by Yonhap news agency, highlights growing frustration over the uneven standards in South Korea’s push for better digital resilience.
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