An unprecedented situation occurred where Kakao, a digital platform company closely related to the daily economy, consumption and communication, caused access problems for a long time. The stalemate incident continued from around 3:30 pm on October 15th to Sunday the 16th, and suffered massive inconveniences in all areas to the extent that it is said to be applicable to the entire nation. It revealed a variety of problems in various aspects, from the initial response to the fire that caused the incident to the recovery process and preventive management. In the IT service sector, unprecedented economic losses and inconveniences are expected, resulting in considerable sequelae such as controversy over compensation issues.
This Kakao Talk interruption occurred when the power was cut off due to a fire that occurred at the SK Pangyo Campus, where Kakao, Naver, and SK data centers are located. Production activities have stopped as all free services such as Kakao Pay, Kakao Navi, Premium Mail, and portals that are linked to Kakao Talk, as well as paid additional services, are all unavailable throughout the weekend.
It is not just a problem limited to Korea, but has shaken the trust and status of a nation that boasts of advanced information industry in global competition, so we are focused on the future ripple effect. The Ministry of Science, Technology, Information and Communication started responding in earnest on the 16th, so it is too late to allay the distrust and dissatisfaction that has already spread. At the beginning of the incident, unclear messages such as ‘temporary error’ and ‘try after a while’ were delivered about the problem of sending and receiving and login failures.
As Kakao’s official announcement about the outbreak of the suspension was not made immediately, rumors about North Korea’s actions or unusual things happened on social media, fueling vague anxiety. There are precedents that have fostered anxiety, such as the North Korean terrorism even when KT Internet communication was cut off due to a fire in October 2021. Recently, as the Cold War structure is intensifying due to the launch of missiles between the two Koreas, there should have been a faster and more accurate response, but there are a lot of regrets.
Kakao is unable to afford it as it is an urgent task to restore the service, but it must do its best to find out the exact cause and at the same time make sure that the loss compensation to the service victims is done in a timely manner. In the event of a serious incident, the public-private cooperation response system and follow-up measures, as well as preventive management, should be checked for any backwardness to reduce the aftereffects and elevate the fallen status even a little.