Dismantling of Kumho Tire Gwangju Factory Refining Building Set to Begin Soon

Gwangsan-gu Grants Demolition Permit...
Construction Company and Supervisor Being Prepared
Demolition and Investigation to Proceed After Safety Approval

The dismantling of the refining process building at Kumho Tire's Gwangju factory, which suffered significant damage from a large fire, is expected to begin soon.

Black smoke is rising from Kumho Tire's Gwangju factory due to a fire that occurred on the morning of May 17. Photo by Song Bohyun

According to Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, on August 7, the district office granted permission for the demolition of the building the previous day. After concerns about the building's collapse grew following the fire in May, Kumho Tire prepared a demolition plan and proceeded with the necessary administrative procedures. On August 1, the Building Demolition Review Committee approved the plan on the condition that additional safety measures would be implemented.

Once Kumho Tire selects a construction company and Gwangsan-gu completes the process of appointing a supervisor, the demolition can begin following a construction commencement notification. This notification must include a separate safety management plan approved by the Korea Infrastructure Safety and Technology Corporation.

The fire broke out on May 17 at Plant 2, located on the west side of the factory. Plant 2 is responsible for key tire manufacturing processes such as refining, which involves mixing raw rubber and chemicals, processing semi-finished products, and molding. Due to the fire, the entire plant was virtually destroyed, and operations at the facility are currently completely suspended.

Although it is presumed that the fire started from a spark in an industrial electric oven, authorities have not been able to determine the exact cause because they have been unable to enter the building due to concerns about its collapse. The authorities plan to conduct an on-site investigation to determine the cause of the fire in parallel with the demolition work.

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