Fire disrupts service of South Korea's top messenger app

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After a fire at a data center disrupted service for more than 50 million users of KakaoTalk, South Korea's largest mobile messenger app, the company issued an apology and called for government-led prevention plans on Sunday.

Kakao's flagship messaging app is installed on roughly 90% of South Korean phones, and its widely used services – including maps, online payments, ride-hailing, streaming, and gaming – make it a feature of millions' daily lives.

The app's server was offline all day Saturday after a fire broke out at the SK C&C building in Pangyo, south of Seoul, which houses the company's server.

The fire caused several malfunctions, including messenger delivery failures and login issues, with errors lasting into Sunday, according to the company.

In a statement released late Saturday, the company said: "We bow our heads and sincerely apologize to all users who are experiencing inconveniences due to disruptions in Kakao services." 

"Kakao is currently working to normalize services as quickly as possible, and promises to thoroughly investigate the cause of this incident and take the best possible measures to prevent recurrence," it said.

Kakao was founded in 2010 and its messenger service has approximately 53 million users worldwide, as per an August filing.

The failure is a setback for hyper-connected South Korea, which strives to be at the forefront of technological change.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has called for an investigation into the cause of the damage and plans to prevent similar incidents in the future.

There were no casualties as a result of the fire, Yonhap news agency reported.