SEOUL, Sept 29 (Reuters) - South Korea has restored 46

government services after a fire at a data centre disrupted

websites and digital public amenities, Safety Minister Yun

Hojung said on Monday.

"We see services restoring every hour," Yun told a briefing,

citing recovery of Government24, Korea's main portal for public

services, and financial and postal systems run by Korea Post.

Organisations affected by the fire include Korea Customs,

the National Police Agency and the National Fire Agency,

according to the safety ministry.

The blaze struck a server room at the state-run National

Information Resources Service in Daejeon, halting some

government sites and mobile ID functions used for internet

banking.

Authorities said another 96 systems affected by the fire

would be harder to restart, without giving a timetable for full

restoration.

Investigators suspect the fire began after a battery

produced by LG Energy Solution exploded during

maintenance on Friday night, damaging some servers and forcing

hundreds to be shut down. LG Energy Solution declined to

comment, saying the matter was under investigation.

Yun said the government would notify the public as major

services came back online and warned of increased disruption to

daily life while recovery continued.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Sunday ordered

"significant improvement" in the security of government systems

and asked ministers to propose budgets for emergency systems to

prevent similar outages.

The batteries, sold and maintained by LG Energy affiliate LG

CNS, had been used for more than a decade and their warranty

expired last year, according to the safety ministry. LG CNS

advised the government to replace them during a routine checkup

in June 2024, the ministry said.