SEOUL: (Bernama-Yonhap) South Korea’s Hanwha Aerospace Co., a defence affiliate under Hanwha Group, said Tuesday (June 2) it has partially suspended production at its Daejeon facility after a deadly explosion at the plant, Yonhap News Agency reported.
In a regulatory filing, the arms manufacturer said it was ordered by labour authorities to halt operations at the facility, about 140 kilometres south of Seoul, due to a serious workplace accident under South Korea's occupational safety laws.
The explosion killed five people and injured two others, and police have launched a joint probe to investigate the exact cause of the accident.
Hanwha officials said workers were cleaning propellant powder residue from tools used in the production of propulsion systems at the time of the explosion.
Investigators plan to determine the source of the ignition and examine whether flammable materials were present at the scene.
The Daejeon plant is a key defence facility and is designated as a secret defence factory. It makes various weapons systems, including the Chunmoo multiple rocket launchers and long-range surface-to-air missiles (L-SAM).
The affected production lines generated 1.32 trillion won (US$870 million) in revenue last year, accounting for 4.94 per cent of Hanwha Aerospace's total revenue of 26.7 trillion won, according to the company. - Bernama-Yonhap
