By Ee Saeyeon
Reports confirm that around 79m of underground cabling has been lost at the Seodaemun KT building in [central] Seoul. Complete recovery is estimated to take quite some time, and so communication problems in the area will continue.
Police and fire service representatives reached an initial consensus on the fire, which took place in the underground communication area of the KT Anhyeon branch office building. Police and firefighters have confirmed that they have lost about 79 meters of underground communications area as a result of their first inspection this morning. The fire has meant communication disruption for users in Seoul in Jung-gu, Yongsan-gu, Seodaemun-gu, Mapo-gu, and Eunpyeong-gu, continuing up until now. In the KT’s wired and wireless telephones, Internet and IPTV services are not working properly.
Card payment terminals using the KT network are also acting inconsistently, causing confusion for merchants and customers. The Seoul Metropolitan Police internal communication network has also suffered from a disability. Police said their telephone lines and [emergency number] 112 communication system in Seoul’s Seodaemun, Yongsan, and Mapo police stations were disconnected at one point in the morning. “[However] we have had no problem with the receipt of citizens’ 112 reports,” [a spokesperson] added.
KT commented that 63% of mobile phone base stations and 97% of internet lines, including those used for card payment, were restored at 6:00 pm today. Police and the fire department are planning to conduct a second joint survey tomorrow with the National Institute of Scientific Investigation to identify the exact cause of the fire.