Labor minister orders emergency response after Hanwha Aerospace blast kills 5 in Daejeon

Employment and Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon activated the Central Industrial Accident Response Headquarters on Sunday and ordered an immediate response following an explosion at Hanwha Aerospace's Daejeon plant.

According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, an explosion and fire of unknown cause broke out at around 10:59 a.m. Sunday in the detonator room of Building 56 at Hanwha Aerospace's weapons systems plant in Oesamdong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon. Five workers were killed and two others suffered serious to moderate injuries. Fire authorities initially reported six fatalities but later revised the figure to five.

Immediately after receiving word of the accident, Kim dispatched Ryu Gyeong-cheol, head of the Occupational Safety and Health Bureau, to the scene and issued emergency instructions for a swift response.

The ministry set up the Central Industrial Accident Response Headquarters at its main office and a regional counterpart at the Daejeon Regional Employment and Labor Office. Ryu is overseeing the overall response at the scene, with the head of the Daejeon office and labor inspectors also deployed.

The ministry ordered a work stoppage at the affected operation immediately after the accident and launched an investigation to determine the exact cause and whether the Occupational Safety and Health Act was violated. Investigators plan to focus particularly on whether adequate safety measures to prevent explosion risks had been properly implemented.

The ministry said it will thoroughly investigate the structural causes of the accident and move quickly to conduct oversight and a criminal investigation to prevent similar incidents.

"I extend my deepest condolences to the workers who lost their lives in this accident," Kim said. "We will do everything in our power to manage the situation swiftly and rigorously, and to prevent any secondary accidents."