Fire Breaks Out in National Palace Museum Basement Mechanical Room: "Humidifier Overheating Suspected"

Fire Broke Out at Dawn and Extinguished Itself
No Damage to National Treasures or Human Life
Temporary Closure on the 23rd for Safety Inspection

In the early morning of January 23, a fire broke out in the basement mechanical room of the National Palace Museum of Korea in Jongno-gu, Seoul, due to equipment overheating. The fire did not spread significantly and extinguished itself, resulting in no notable damage.

According to the Cultural Heritage Administration, a fire alarm sounded at around 2:38 a.m. that day in the basement mechanical room of the museum. The staff on duty confirmed smoke at the scene and reported it to emergency services, and the fire department arrived at the site at 2:53 a.m., nine minutes after the report was received.

The investigation found that the fire was caused by an overheated humidifier inside the mechanical room. The fire extinguished itself immediately after ignition without further combustion, so there was no harm to people or cultural assets.

However, since the museum houses over 90,000 important artifacts, including eight National Treasures and 336 Treasures, the authorities initiated emergency measures according to protocol.

Immediately after the fire alarm, the museum notified the main office of the situation and prepared to relocate artifacts from the storage area near the ignition point to a safe location starting at 3:20 a.m. The situation was concluded at around 4:40 a.m., after the final inspection by the fire investigation team was completed.

The museum decided to temporarily close for the day to remove the smell of smoke and conduct a thorough safety inspection.

Heo Min, Administrator of the Cultural Heritage Administration, who visited the site around 7:00 a.m., stated, "We will convene all companies related to the mechanical room and conduct a comprehensive safety inspection of the equipment and facilities. We will also carry out a unified fire safety inspection across all institutions and affiliated organizations under the Cultural Heritage Administration to ensure the protection of artifacts."