Inevitable Disruption to Operations
A New Setback for the Local Industrial Sector
On the morning of the 29th, fire authorities are conducting extinguishing operations at a shipyard in Samho-eup, Yeongam-gun, Jeollanam-do. At the shipyard, a fire broke out at the power supply facility, a substation, around 11:22 PM the previous day. Photo by Yonhap News
A major fire broke out in the underground utility tunnel of HD Hyundai Samho (Samho Heavy Industries), the leading shipyard in Yeongam, South Jeolla Province, raising an emergency alert in the local industry.
According to fire authorities on July 29, a report was received at around 11:22 p.m. the previous day that a fire had started in the underground utility tunnel of HD Hyundai Samho, located within the Daebul National Industrial Complex.
The fire at the scene was so intense that even firefighters had difficulty entering, making initial firefighting efforts challenging. The affected underground utility tunnel is a key infrastructure supplying electricity and water to the entire plant, and it appears that production will inevitably be completely halted due to the fire.
Despite efforts by HD Hyundai Samho personnel to extinguish the flames themselves, the fire spread rapidly, and it is expected that recovery will take at least several months. So far, there have been no casualties, but serious disruptions to the production schedule planned after the summer vacation are anticipated.
Concerns are growing in the local industrial sector as this incident is expected to be another blow, following the recent fire at the Kumho Tire Gwangju plant.
Fire authorities and HD Hyundai Samho plan to investigate the exact cause of the fire and the extent of the damage as soon as the blaze is brought under control.
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