Battery plant fire spurs flurry of safety inspections nationwide

The fire at a battery plant in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi, on Monday that claimed over 20 lives has prompted governments around the country to inspect facilities.

The officials of Gwangju city government and experts conduct a safety inspection on Tuesday at a battery-making factory run by Sebang Global Battery in Gwangju. [YONHAP]

Korea’s central and regional governments have launched emergency safety inspections of battery-making facilities nationwide Tuesday, alarmed by the latest fire calamity at a battery cell plant in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi.

The Monday blaze claimed over 20 lives, most of whom were Chinese nationals, working at Aricell, a Kosdaq-listed maker of lithium batteries.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy inspected Vitzrocell, the country’s largest manufacturer of single-use lithium batteries located in Dangjin, South Chungcheong.

The ministry will extend the scope of the probe to include more lithium battery makers and operators of energy storage systems.

The city governments of Hwaseong, Gwangju and Busan also started their own inspections of battery makers in their respective regions.

BY PARK EUN-JEE [park.eunjee@joongang.co.kr]