Will the 'Curse of Cyworld' Finally End This Time?

As the re-launch of Cyworld is being pushed forward, Kim Ho-gwang, the former CEO, has raised concerns regarding the storage condition of Cyworld servers and the possibility of data recovery.

Kim stated that he visited the LG Internet Data Center on the 14th to inspect the storage condition of the Cyworld servers.

As a result, he claimed that while power was being supplied to some equipment racks, certain servers were detached from their racks.

In addition, he noted that server usage fees had been in arrears for a long period, adding that he could not confirm whether Sigmachain, a blockchain company promoting the re-launch of Cyworld, had modified the existing contract with the LG Data Center or held related discussions.

He further claimed that he was told it would be difficult to conduct a technical due diligence on the servers unless the unpaid fee issue is resolved.

Synthesizing Kim's remarks, the server condition must be inspected first to ensure that Cyworld users' data can be safely preserved before proceeding with recovery work, and that achieving this requires resolving issues such as modifying the existing contract with the LG Data Center and clearing overdue server usage fees.

Previously, Sigmachain acquired the intellectual property license for Cyworld and announced plans to re-launch the service.

The plan aimed to unveil a beta version in October, with the goal of restoring approximately 17 billion pieces of data, including photos and posts, to the fullest extent possible.

Cyworld achieved massive success through its "mini-hompy" (mini homepage) feature and was acquired by SK Communications in 2003, gathering up to 32 million users.

However, as smartphones emerged and social networking services gained explosive popularity, it ultimately failed to keep up with the changes and terminated its service in 2019.

Afterwards, Cyworld Z acquired the business rights and re-launched the service in 2021, but it was suspended two years later due to financial difficulties. In 2024, Cycomz took over and officially announced the resurrection of Cyworld, but this also fell through due to a lack of funds, marking multiple changes in ownership over the years.

Reported by Kim Minjeong | Video by Kim In-sun | Graphics by Yook Do-hyun | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.