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| Second Vice Science Minister Cho Kyeong-sik speaks during a briefing at the Seoul Government Complex, Friday, on the results of an investigation into the cause of KT's network failure that occurred Monday. / Yonhap |
By Kim Bo-eun
A mistake by an employee of a firm KT outsourced for its routing work was to blame for the nationwide network disruption earlier this week, the Ministry of Science and ICT said Friday.
KT's internet network error disabled both wired and wireless services around 11:20 a.m. on Monday. Most services were back by noon, but some disruptions lasted longer.
The telecom company stated in the days following the network failure that a routing error was the cause and that the large-scale disruption was the result of work that was performed during the day instead of when it was supposed to have been carried out ― at night when there is less network traffic.
"We found that an employee entered the wrong command while changing a network router at a location in Busan," Second Vice Minister Cho Kyeong-sik said in a briefing on the results of the inspection into the cause of the network failure.
A router is a networking device that forwards data packets between computer networks. Routing refers to the designation of network routes for data to reach a service subscriber.
The ministry said disruptions to phone calls and text messaging were caused as people increasingly turned to these mediums when internet services stopped working for them. IPTV subscribers also experienced disruptions as many reset their devices following the failures and traffic surged accordingly.
But the ministry said the fundamental reason for the accident was KT's failure to oversee the firm outsourced to carry out its routing work.
KT had approved the work process to be carried out between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m., but this ended up being done in the daytime under KT's consent. In addition, KT managers were not present to supervise the routing process at the time.
There were also systematic problems such as the absence of a simulation testbed that could detect errors in the planned routing, and the absence of a system that could prevent the error from flowing on to affect nationwide networks.
The ministry said it will come up with plans to ensure network stability, such as checking network operators' management systems and introducing simulation systems that can detect errors arising in processes such as routing.
The ministry said it will also strengthen monitoring of network operators to enable early detection of telecommunication disruptions and deal with such problems swiftly.
KT CEO Ku Hyeon-mo said a day earlier the company would compensate those impacted via a center to be set up next week.
The ministry said it will check whether KT follows through with its pledge for compensation.
