Illegal Construction Found in 829 Factories After Deadly Daejeon Fire

An emergency safety inspection has uncovered widespread illegal construction in factories similar to the one where a deadly fire occurred in Daejeon, South Korea. The inspection, prompted by the March accident that killed 14 people and injured 60, examined 2,916 high-risk factories. Authorities found a total of 829 instances of illegal construction, with 690 of these involving unauthorized extensions. These extensions often created unsafe resting areas lacking adequate escape routes, a factor that significantly worsened casualties in the original Daejeon incident. The findings reveal a persistent risk of similar disasters across the industry. In addition to structural violations, the inspection also identified 482 cases where companies handling flammable materials, like Hanwha Aerospace which experienced an explosion, failed to manage them properly. Overall, 1,284 factories, or 44% of those inspected, received failing grades, with 6,937 deficiencies noted.