Repeated Fires and Electric Shock Accidents... Prime Minister Han Deok-su Orders "Implement Emergency Safety Inspection Plan"

On the early morning of Christmas, a fire broke out in a high-rise apartment in Dobong-gu, Seoul, where two people died, leaving traces of the blaze on the 26th.

Following consecutive casualties from a recent apartment fire in Dobong-gu, Seoul, and an electrocution accident at a bathhouse in Sejong City, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo has ordered the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the National Police Agency, and the National Fire Agency to establish and implement an emergency safety inspection plan.

According to the Prime Minister's Office on the 29th, Prime Minister Han instructed that the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, in coordination with the National Police Agency, the National Fire Agency, local governments, and related public institutions, jointly formulate and immediately carry out an emergency safety inspection plan targeting fire accidents and safety incidents to prevent recurrence.

Prime Minister Han emphasized, "Fires in apartments and other multi-unit housing have a high potential to cause large-scale casualties," adding, "Strengthen fire safety inspections for aging multi-unit housing without installed fire safety equipment such as sprinklers and evacuation devices, and actively promote evacuation procedures to residents."

He also stressed the need for active electrical, gas, and fire safety inspections amid ongoing electrocution accidents in aging bathhouses, warning that large-scale casualties could occur due to boiler or gas storage facility explosions in the event of a fire.

A police line is installed at the entrance of a bathhouse in Jochiwon-eup, Sejong City, where three casualties occurred due to an electric shock accident in the women's bathhouse on the morning of the 24th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Prime Minister Han ordered, "Conduct on-site inspections of facilities such as factories and warehouses, where fire prevention is difficult due to the absence of managers during late-night and early-morning hours, as well as temporary facilities like sledding hills. If necessary, immediately implement access restrictions and corrective measures for any deficiencies."

Earlier, at 4:57 a.m. on Christmas Day, a fire broke out on the 3rd floor of a 21-story apartment building in Banghak-dong, Dobong-gu, Seoul, resulting in 2 residents dead and 29 others injured, some seriously.

Additionally, at 5:37 a.m. on the 24th, three bathers in their 70s were electrocuted and died inside the hot bath at a bathhouse in Jochiwon-eup, Sejong City.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.