Science Ministry Orders Kakao to Improve Operations After Service Outages

The Ministry of Science and ICT has directed Kakao, the operator of KakaoTalk, to rectify its operation system to enhance service stability after recent disruptions. Kakao has been instructed to submit an improvement plan within a month and demonstrate results within three months.

Following recent service failures in KakaoTalk, the government has urged Kakao to devise an improvement strategy. The Ministry of Science and ICT’s directive includes strengthening pre-testing and submitting corrective measures within three months.

Kakao has been advised to conduct pre-tests before major operations on its network and internal systems, upgrade its communications disaster manual, enhance its monitoring system, and analyze the causes of the disruptions, according to Yonhap news agency.

The Ministry of Science and ICT determined that the recent KakaoTalk service failures were due to human error, with Kakao admitting that it did not follow the manual during internal system work.

Inspections were conducted on the 21st and 23rd to assess Kakao’s telecommunications disaster management plan and review the response and recovery status of the KakaoTalk disruptions.

The Telecommunications Disaster Management Review Committee met from the 28th to the 30th to deliberate and finalize the corrective actions. The disruptions occurred on the 13th, 20th, and 21st of the month, lasting 6 minutes, 6 minutes, and 54 minutes, respectively.

This month, KakaoTalk experienced three service failures, impacting users from 1:44 p.m. to 1:50 p.m. on the 13th, 2:52 p.m. to 2:58 p.m. on the 20th, and 8:30 a.m. to 9:24 a.m. on the 21st. Approximately 80% of users faced delays in sending and receiving messages due to an error during file updates on the data center server. The issue arose because pre-tests were not conducted.

The second disruption was caused by an error during internal system improvements for network load distribution. Despite conducting pre-tests, the service failure was not anticipated as the test environment differed from the actual operating conditions of KakaoTalk. Kakao managed to normalize the service by operating service duplexing.

The third disruption, which impacted around 8% of KakaoTalk users, occurred due to unresolved errors from the previous failure and the commencement of new work without proper control. As a result, Kakao has been directed to submit an improvement plan within one month and demonstrate corrective actions within three months.

Minister Jeong Ho-young of the Ministry of Science and ICT stressed the importance of preventing such digital service disruptions, and its impact on people’s lives and broader societal and economic effects. He said that the ministry would meticulously inspect service providers’ management systems to prevent recurrence and ensure stability.

A Kakao representative stated, “We humbly accept the Ministry of Science and ICT’s inspection results. While we have actively responded to obstacles through technical measures like service duplexing, we will also reorganize and strengthen our internal management and supervision processes for major tasks.”

The official added, “We apologize for the inconvenience caused to users and will continue to strive to provide stable services.”

Minister Jeong Ho-young emphasized the need for Kakao to improve its organizational culture for disaster and disruption management, given its growth with public support, to ensure the provision of convenient and stable services.

The improvement plan must include strengthening the pre-test system before major operations, enhancing work management control, supplementing communication disaster manuals, reinforcing failure detection through advanced monitoring systems, analyzing failure causes, systematizing follow-up management, and improving user notification regarding service disruptions.

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