Fire Again at POSCO Pohang 3-PHINEX Plant... Why Are Fires Repeating?

The scene of the fire at POSCO 3 Finex factory. Photo by Yonhap News

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Fires have been repeatedly occurring at POSCO Pohang Steelworks. Just two weeks after a fire broke out on the 10th, another fire occurred at the same plant, putting POSCO's safety management responsibility under scrutiny.

According to fire authorities on the 25th, a fire broke out at around 11:18 PM the previous day at the 3rd FINEX plant of POSCO Pohang Steelworks in Jecheol-dong, Nam-gu, Pohang-si, Gyeongbuk. The fire was completely extinguished at around 1:13 AM, two hours later, and no casualties have been reported so far. This plant was also the site of an explosion and fire on the 10th, which injured one employee. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.

The 3rd FINEX plant where the fire occurred is a facility that produces molten iron like a blast furnace. This plant produces molten iron by using powdered iron ore and bituminous coal directly without a separate raw material processing step. Although an investigation into the first fire has been conducted, the exact cause of the fire remains unknown as the results have not yet been released. However, the police and fire authorities currently estimate that the accident occurred due to gas expansion caused by the malfunction of the oxygen injection tuyere (a passage that blows hot air) located under the melting furnace (a furnace that melts metal into liquid) of the 3rd FINEX plant.

Since the first FINEX plant began operation in January 2009, there have been four fire or explosion incidents including this one. Steelworks, which consume massive amounts of energy, are always exposed to safety risks. However, it is considered unusual that two fires occurred this month alone at the 3rd plant, which is the most recently built.

Professor Gong Ha-seong of the Department of Fire and Disaster Prevention at Woosuk University said, "Steelworks use a lot of gases such as high-pressure oxygen that aid combustion in blast furnaces and melting furnaces, and valve damage or malfunction in gas pipes is a major cause of fires," adding, "The possibility that the fire was caused by human error such as workers not following safety protocols cannot be overlooked."

There are also voices questioning whether POSCO's follow-up measures in handling this accident were excessive. It is suggested that the recovery work was rushed to resume factory operations quickly. POSCO stated immediately after the first fire on the 10th that "recovery will take about a week" and "increasing blast furnace operation flexibly will prevent disruption to the overall production schedule." The actual recovery took about nine days. Although both the first and second fires were extinguished in about two hours, the flames were large enough to engulf the top of the plant, leading to criticism that the recovery was rushed excessively.

POSCO experienced damage from Typhoon Hinnamnor in 2022 and a fire at the No. 2 blast furnace last year. At that time, property damage and operational disruptions directly affected performance. There is criticism that POSCO focused more on resuming operations than on complete recovery. Professor Gong said, "After the first fire, a thorough analysis of the cause should have been conducted and measures taken to prevent recurrence, but there is suspicion that the recovery was done hastily as a temporary fix."

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