Hanwha Aerospace Explosion Kills Five Workers, Lee Orders Probe
An explosion at Hanwha Aerospace Co.’s manufacturing facility in South Korea on Monday killed five employees, prompting President Lee Jae Myung to order a full investigation.
Hanwha Group said it had set up an emergency response headquarters and was working with fire authorities, police and other agencies. The exact cause of the explosion at its plant in Daejeon, central South Korea, and the extent of the damage remained under investigation.
“Hanwha Group and Hanwha Aerospace will do everything possible to deal with the aftermath of the accident,” the statement added. The firm extended its “deepest condolences” to the victims and their families and apologized to the public over the accident.
President Lee was briefed on the accident and instructed authorities to mobilize all available resources for rescue efforts and accident response, according to the presidential office. He also ordered a thorough investigation into the cause of the explosion and called for measures to prevent similar incidents from recurring.
The explosion is the latest in a spate of industrial accidents that raises questions about safety standards in South Korea.
Hanwha Aerospace is South Korea’s largest defense contractor and has been accelerating production at home and expanding its manufacturing footprint in Europe and the US to meet spiraling demand for munitions, missiles and other weapons systems.
The fire authorities received about 30 emergency calls around 10:59 a.m. local time reporting a loud explosion and thick smoke at the facility, according to Yonhap News Agency. Police and fire officials suspect the incident may have involved propellant-related materials and plan to investigate the cause once the fire is fully extinguished.
The accident occurred the same day that chipmaker SK Hynix Inc. evacuated about 3,600 workers from its semiconductor complex in Cheongju, South Korea, following a fire and toxic gas leak. No fatalities were reported, and there were no indications of production disruptions, according to a separate Yonhap report.
The Cheongju fire was quickly brought under control and the relevant authorities were notified, an SK Hynix spokesperson said, adding that the company is investigating the cause of the incident in cooperation with authorities. Coming on the same day, the two incidents are likely to renew scrutiny of industrial safety at some of South Korea’s key manufacturing facilities.
Shares of Hanwha Aerospace slid as much as 4.9% to the lowest since February following the incident, before paring losses to trade down about 3%.
Top photo: Hanwha Aerospace is South Korea’s largest defense contractor. Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg.