Gov't To Inspect All Telecommunication Facilities: ICT Minister

South Korea's ICT Minister Yoo Young-min said Monday that the government will inspect all telecommunication facilities and come up with safety measures to prevent the repeat of a fire that affected communications and Internet services in many parts of Seoul.

SEOUL, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 26th Nov, 2018 ) :South Korea's ICT Minister Yoo Young-min said Monday that the government will inspect all telecommunication facilities and come up with safety measures to prevent the repeat of a fire that affected communications and internet services in many parts of Seoul.

The comments were made during an emergency meeting between Yoo and heads of local mobile carriers KT Corp. and LG Uplus Inc., as well as SK Broadband Inc.

The meeting was convened to discuss countermeasures following the blaze at a KT building in western Seoul on Saturday.

"The measures should be carried out not only by KT but with the joint efforts of all three carriers," the policymaker said, adding that the government will also map out the detailed countermeasures by the end of this year.

The blaze paralyzed the fixed-line, mobile and Internet networks for individuals and businesses using KT in Seoul's western wards of Mapo, Seodaemun and Eunpyeong, as well as some parts of Gyeonggi Province, which surrounds Seoul.

The policymaker said the accident showed that both government and companies need to prepare for unexpected problems.

"Various backup systems should have been prepared, in addition to fire-fighting equipment such as sprinklers," Yoo said.

According to the Ministry of Science and ICT, in addition to 80 major telecommunication facilities across the country with ratings from A to C, 835 others with D-level ratings are to be checked.

Facilities with a D classification are mostly small and have so far been "self-examined" by the mobile carriers and Internet operators that run such places, officials said.

The ministry said it plans to mandate installing CCTVs and sprinklers in cable tunnels shorter than 500 meters in length.