Hwaseong-si "Normal Operation of 'Modunurim Center' from Next Month Due to Citizens' Requests"

Arisel Factory Fire Incident Normalized After About a Month

Operation of Hwaseong City's 'Modunurim Center,' which had been disrupted for a month following the 'Arisel Factory Fire Accident' in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, will return to normal.

Hwaseong City announced on the 24th that the Modunurim Center, which had restricted use due to support for the bereaved families after the accident, will resume normal operations starting from the 1st of next month.

Exterior view of Hwaseong-si Modunurim Center. The city will normalize the operation of Modunurim Center, which was suspended after the Arisel factory fire accident, starting from the 1st of next month. [Photo by Hwaseong-si]

The Modunurim Center, located in front of Hwaseong City Hall, is a representative public cultural and sports complex facility of Hwaseong City. On average, 210 women's, youth, and sports programs have been operated monthly at this location.

The center was fully closed starting from the day after the Arisel factory fire accident on the 24th of last month, as a 'Bereaved Families Support Center' was established there. However, as citizens' demands to normalize facility operations separately from bereaved family support have continued recently, the city decided to resume normal operations.

Jung Myung-geun, mayor of Hwaseong City, explained, "Since this is a facility used by all citizens, we have decided to resume normal operations from next month. However, some spaces within the center will remain as counseling and waiting areas for the bereaved families."

After the fire accident, the city assigned dedicated personnel to each family for close one-on-one support and organized 13 teams within the Disaster Safety Countermeasures Headquarters to provide legal, medical, psychological, and accommodation support.

Meanwhile, according to the city, out of the 23 deceased in the Arisel factory fire, funerals for 10 have been held so far, and five more funerals are scheduled for this week. Earlier, on the 22nd, about 20 bereaved family members visited the accident site and urged the company to actively engage in negotiations.