Calls for a centralized authority to oversee battery safety are growing in South Korea after a fire at the National Information Resources Service disrupted government computer systems.

As of Tuesday, no ministry had clear responsibility for overall battery safety.

“The government does not yet have a control tower dedicated to battery-related accidents,” said a Ministry of the Interior and Safety official.

Oversight is split among several ministries.

Battery production moves from cells to modules to packs: the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy is responsible for cells, while the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport oversees modules and packs used in electric vehicles.

The Ministry of Environment manages waste battery recycling. The division of responsibilities has made it difficult to coordinate preventive measures. If a fire is traced to a cell, the industry ministry takes charge, but if it stems from a module or pack, the transport ministry is responsible. Until the cause is determined, ministries are often reluctant to intervene.

In the case of the recent fire, the interior ministry is handling recovery from the network outage, but it is unclear which ministry will lead long-term prevention efforts.

The issue is further complicated by the fact that the uninterruptible power supply involved is not considered a core battery product, leaving no agency with clear jurisdiction.

An official from the Korea Battery Industry Association said there are no regulations that specify responsibility for battery safety.

“Since this was a UPS fire, it seems the National Fire Agency would handle it,” he said.

The government is under criticism for what some see as a slow and fragmented response.

In August 2024, a fire in the underground parking lot of an apartment complex in Cheongna, Incheon, destroyed more than 140 vehicles after a Mercedes-Benz EV caught fire.

The government responded by focusing on risks associated with Chinese-made batteries and moved to require automakers to disclose the country of origin of their battery packs.

However, critics point out that the creation of a central oversight body was neglected, leaving the system vulnerable. The failure to determine the exact cause of the Cheongna fire also left no ministry accountable, and the issue faded without further action.

Experts say the absence of a control tower continues to expose weaknesses in governance, particularly as the use of batteries expands beyond electric vehicles to energy storage systems and other applications.

The interior ministry said it remains focused on recovery from the latest incident and that future safety measures will likely be handled by the industry ministry and other relevant ministries.

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