Hanwha Aerospace Partially Suspends Daejeon Plant Production After Deadly Explosion

By Kim Eun-jung

SEOUL, June 2 (Yonhap) -- Hanwha Aerospace Co., a defense affiliate under Hanwha Group, said Tuesday it has partially suspended production at its Daejeon facility after a deadly explosion at the plant.

In a regulatory filing, the arms manufacturer said it was ordered by labor authorities to halt operations at the facility, about 140 kilometers 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 defense facility and is designated as a secret defense 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 percent of Hanwha Aerospace's total revenue of 26.7 trillion won, according to the company.