Defense Acquisition chief visits Hanwha Aerospace blast site, activates emergency task force

Defense Acquisition Program Administration chief Lee Yong-cheol visited the site of the Hanwha Aerospace explosion at the company's Daejeon plant on Friday, reviewed the recovery operation and paid his respects at a joint memorial altar at the Yuseong-gu district office in Daejeon. He then held discussions on follow-up measures.

At the scene, Lee received briefings on the status of the recovery effort and the extent of the damage. He said ensuring worker safety and thorough follow-through were the top priorities, and called for close coordination with relevant agencies to determine the cause of the accident and strengthen safety management across the defense industry.

At the memorial altar, Lee expressed his condolences. "I offer my deepest grief and sympathy for this heartbreaking loss," he said. "No value can take precedence over the safety of workers."

"I feel a profound sense of responsibility for this accident," he added, "and will work to put thorough measures in place so that a similar incident is never repeated."

Lee then chaired a response meeting at DAPA's Daejeon office, where officials discussed how to launch a joint safety inspection quickly and develop measures to prevent a recurrence.

DAPA has activated a "safety accident response task force" to oversee the immediate recovery and all follow-up actions. The agency said it will, if necessary, draw on specialists from the Agency for Defense Development and the Defense Agency for Technology and Quality to support the investigation.

The explosion at Hanwha Aerospace's Daejeon plant on Monday left seven workers dead or injured — the facility's third such incident in seven years, following blasts in 2018 and 2019. President Lee Jae-myung said at a Cabinet meeting that "the repeated occurrence of the same type of accident at the same facility is a serious problem." Hanwha Aerospace, for the first time since its integrated corporate launch in 2023, halted production lines at its domestic plants — except for certain essential processes — and conducted special safety inspections and worker safety training.