Central Incident Response Headquarters to be set up for large-scale damage from information system failures

2024.07.17. The Fair Economy — The Ministry of the Interior and Safety said on Tuesday that an amendment to the implementing rules of the Basic Act on Disaster and Safety Management, which designates "large-scale damage caused by failures in administrative or public information systems" as a new type of social disaster, takes effect on the 17th.

According to the ministry, the amendment is part of follow-up measures to the "Measures to Enhance Public Trust in Digital Administrative Services" announced at the end of January.

The move aims to establish a systematic institutional framework for responding to large-scale damage caused by information system failures.

The amended implementing rules designate large-scale damage from information system failures as a new type of social disaster. They also specify that the central administrative agency overseeing the construction and operation of the relevant information system shall serve as the lead disaster management agency.

The disaster management lead agency is a related central administrative agency that oversees and carries out tasks for prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery for disasters or other various incidents, categorized by type. For example, in the event of a GOV failure, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety will serve as the lead agency, and in the case of a Bokjiro failure, the Ministry of Health and Welfare will be the lead agency.

The lead disaster management agency is also required to prepare a standard crisis management manual under the Basic Act on Disaster and Safety Management. If large-scale damage occurs due to a system failure under its jurisdiction, it must set up and operate a Central Incident Response Headquarters to manage the situation.

Ko Gi-dong, deputy minister of the Interior and Safety, said, "We ask for the active cooperation of operators of Grade 1 information systems so that measures under the amended implementing rules can be swiftly implemented in the field. The ministry will continue its efforts to provide stable digital administrative services to the public."