Gwangju Council Member Lee Gwisoon Urges City to Take Direct Action on Kumho Tire Fire Response (Comprehensive)

"Passive Attitude Despite Widespread Citizen Damage"
"City Must Take More Responsible Action"
City: "All-Out Efforts for Employment, Economy, Environment, and Damage Recovery"

At around 11:40 a.m. on the 22nd, firefighting equipment and police personnel were deployed to the Kumho Tire Gwangju factory fire site to investigate the cause of the accident. Photo by Shim Jinseok

On May 22, Gwangju City Council member Lee Gwisoon (Democratic Party, Gwangsan-gu 4) stated that the city of Gwangju should take a more proactive approach in accepting damage reports and investigating health impacts related to the Kumho Tire Gwangju factory fire.

Although damage reports from Gwangsan-gu residents began immediately after the fire, there is evidence that the actual damage has spread throughout the entire city. As citizens are reporting symptoms such as respiratory illnesses and headaches, concerns have been raised about the possibility of exposure to hazardous substances.

In a press release issued on the same day, Lee criticized, "The current response from the city of Gwangju is excessively passive, and it is not acceptable to simply shift responsibility to the district offices. Leaving the assessment and action to each district cannot guarantee the safety of all citizens."

She continued, "The city government must directly investigate the scope of the damage and establish a reporting system that allows all citizens to report possible damages. If the administration remains passive in confirming damages, it is highly likely that the company will also try to evade responsibility. Gwangju City must take the lead and demand responsible action from the company."

She added, "Although the fire has been extinguished, citizens are still filing damage reports. As of May 21, there have been 4,147 fire-related damage reports filed with the Gwangsan-gu Office, with 1,726 of those reports submitted on May 21 alone."

Lee emphasized, "This fire is an issue affecting all of Gwangju, and a responsible response from the city is key to minimizing damage. Kumho Tire is one of the region's core anchor companies, playing an important economic role with numerous local partner firms. The city must take even greater responsibility in handling this matter, not only to protect citizens' health but also to safeguard the regional industrial ecosystem."

In response, the city of Gwangju stated in a press release, "Kumho Tire is responsible for the damages and recovery resulting from the fire." However, the city added, "Given the significant impact on citizen safety, health, employment stability, and the local economy, Gwangju is actively working with district offices to provide administrative support, conduct environmental investigations, and accept damage reports."

The city further explained, "We have requested the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to declare a special disaster zone and to allocate special grants, and we have also asked the Ministry of Employment and Labor to designate the area as an employment crisis zone. As a result, we have secured special grants from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and we are currently discussing with Kumho Tire how these funds can be used for local recovery and compensation for residents once firefighting operations are fully completed."

The city also announced, "Together with Gwangju City, the local employment and labor office, Gwangsan-gu, and Kumho Tire, we will establish a task force to overcome the local economic crisis caused by the fire and will begin implementing joint countermeasures starting in June. To alleviate citizens' concerns about air pollution, we will conduct hourly monitoring, continue road cleaning, inspect odors and indoor air quality in surrounding areas, and at the same time, focus on employment stability, local economic recovery, environmental investigations, and damage restoration."

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