4-Fire at Korean Car Parts Factory Kills 10, Injures 59, 4 Missing

Reuters

11:36 JST, March 21, 2026

SEOUL, March 20 (Reuters) – A fire broke out around lunchtime at a car parts factory in the South Korean city of Daejeon on Friday, leaving 10 people dead, 25 seriously injured and 34 with minor injuries, the country’s safety ministry said on Saturday.

Four other workers were still missing, and the government has activated a centralised disaster management system after President Lee Jae Myung ordered all available resources to be used to deal with the fire and save lives.

One of the dead was found on the second floor of the factory and nine others on the third floor, Yonhap reported, citing authorities.

The safety ministry said on Saturday in a statement the fire had been contained since 11:48 p.m. (1448 GMT) on Friday.

Fire officials said the car parts supplier that owned the factory was Anjun Industrial, which makes engine valves and is a supplier for Hyundai Motor 005380.KS and Kia Corp 000270.KS, among others, according to its website.

Officials at Anjun were not immediately available for comment.