Labor minister visits Hanwha Aerospace blast site, vows full support for bereaved families

Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Young-hoon visited the Hanwha Aerospace explosion site in Daejeon on Sunday, convening an emergency on-site review meeting and ordering officials to spare no effort in supporting bereaved families and determining the cause of the accident.

Kim visited the company's Daejeon facility in Oesamdong, Yuseong-gu, that afternoon to chair the emergency meeting, the ministry said.

At the meeting, Kim directed officials to build a seamless support system for bereaved families and the injured in coordination with local governments. He also instructed them to arrange trauma counseling for workers who witnessed the explosion and their colleagues.

Kim said a joint forensic investigation by relevant agencies, scheduled for Tuesday, must "swiftly and rigorously determine the cause of the accident." He added that officials should "pay special attention to ensuring the safety of investigators participating in the joint examination."

Earlier, the ministry assembled a dedicated investigation team of about 20 people — drawn from the Daejeon Regional Labor Office's serious industrial accident investigation division and labor inspectors from the serious industrial accident prevention center — and launched a probe immediately after the blast. The team plans to examine whether the company fulfilled its obligations under the Occupational Safety and Health Act to take safety measures when handling hazardous materials, and whether it met its duty to secure safety and health under the Serious Accidents Punishment Act.

Prime Minister Kim Min-seok also visited the scene that day. He instructed Labor Minister Kim to thoroughly investigate the cause of the accident and rigorously examine whether any relevant laws were violated.

The explosion occurred at 10:59 a.m. Sunday in a cleaning room in Building 56 of the Hanwha Aerospace Daejeon facility. Authorities believe the blast was triggered during a cleaning operation involving explosive materials. Five workers were killed and two others were injured.

Fire authorities declared a Level 1 emergency response, deploying about 100 personnel and more than 30 pieces of equipment to fight the blaze, which was fully extinguished in roughly two hours. The building where the explosion occurred — measuring 544 square meters — was completely destroyed.

The ministry said it plans to work with prosecutors, the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency and other relevant authorities to establish the exact sequence of events and determine who bears responsibility.