Gwangju Factory Fire Fully Extinguished After 76 Hours
Damage to Ingredients and Buildings Mounts Due to Dust
Local Government's Support Measures Criticized as Superficial
"Compensation Roadmap Must Be Established Promptly"
"Because of the smoke from the fire, both my store and my body are in a terrible state."
On May 20, the fourth day after the Kumho Tire Gwangju factory fire, Bae (32), the owner of a restaurant in Sochon-dong, Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, said, "No matter how much I ventilate, the smoke that entered the store won't go away, and I've been cleaning all day," adding, "I have no idea how I will be able to run the business again in the future."
Bae has been running the restaurant here for five years. On May 17, just as he was preparing to open as usual, the sudden Kumho Tire Gwangju factory fire forced him to close immediately. The Kumho Tire Gwangju factory fire was finally extinguished at 11:55 a.m. on this day, 76 hours after it started. When he reopened after a long closure, the store was filled with smoke, and both the kitchen and the hall were covered in dust.
On the 20th, Bae Mo (32), the owner of a restaurant in Sochon-dong, Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, is showing the smoke damage caused by the Kumho Tire Gwangju factory fire. Photo by Min Chanki
In the end, Bae had to throw away all the prepared ingredients and spent the entire day cleaning and preparing to reopen the store, but this was not his only concern. After staying at the store throughout the weekend and watching the fire scene, he experienced swollen eyes and persistent coughing due to inhaling the smoke. When he asked the local Gwangsan-gu district office whether he could receive free medical treatment, he was told, "There is no compensation agreement with Kumho Tire yet, so you will have to pay for treatment."
Bae said, "No matter how much I clean, the smoke won't go away, so I can't do business and I'm just paying rent," and added, "I don't know how compensation will be handled. I hear that more and more people from other areas are filing damage reports, claiming they were affected, but I am worried that those of us who suffered direct damage may not receive proper compensation."
On the afternoon of the 20th, a resident of Sochon-dong, Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, complained of eye pain due to smoke from the Kumho Tire Gwangju factory fire. Photo by a reader
Merchants also criticized the support measures from Gwangsan-gu, calling them merely for show. Previously, right after the fire broke out on May 17, Gwangsan-gu distributed more than 33,000 dust masks to nearby apartment complexes and stores near Gwangju Songjeong Station. However, there was no information provided on where to receive the masks.
Additionally, there was criticism that, just two days after the fire, the temporary shelter at the Gwangju Women's University gymnasium was closed, forcing 249 residents from 137 households to return home and thereby worsening the damage.
Kim (45), who runs a lodging business nearby, said, "The local merchants suffered direct damage as they are right next to the fire site, but none of us received masks," and added, "They said they distributed masks, but I wonder if anyone is actually checking how many people really received them."
According to Gwangsan-gu and others, as of 12:00 p.m. on this day, a total of 1,583 damage reports from nearby residents had been filed in Gwangsan-gu due to the Kumho Tire Gwangju factory fire that broke out on May 17. Of these, 791 cases (49.9%) were personal injuries such as headaches, vomiting, and dizziness.
There were 586 cases of property damage, including dust on balconies and soot on vehicles, while 206 reports were related to demands for compensation for odors and business losses.
Gwangsan-gu is continuing to accept fire damage reports in cooperation with Kumho Tire at the Songjeong Public Health Center 1st floor from the previous day until May 28, so the number of affected residents is expected to continue increasing.
In addition, it is reported that about 67,000 residents in total are being directly or indirectly affected by the fire, including 33,300 in Eoryong-dong, 15,000 in Songjeong 1 and 2-dong, and 18,000 in Dosan and Sinhung-dong, all near the Kumho Tire Gwangju factory.
On this day, the Gwangsan-gu Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters also issued a statement regarding the Kumho Tire Gwangju factory fire, saying, "A compensation roadmap must be established and implemented as soon as possible," and pointed out, "The overall guidelines from Kumho Tire, including the scope and procedures for compensation, have not been clearly presented, which is increasing confusion among citizens."
A Kumho Tire official said, "Although the fire has been completely extinguished, firefighting activities are not yet finished, and we have not yet calculated the scale of the damage," adding, "After identifying the cause of the fire and the extent of the damage, we will do our best to ensure that affected residents receive compensation in accordance with legal procedures."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
