Lee Hae-rin is a City Desk reporter at The Korea Times, covering social issues, tourism and taekwondo. She is passionate about speaking up for the rights of minorities, including women, LGBTQ+, people with disabilities and animals as well as discovering the latest makgeolli trend in town. Feel free to reach her at lhr@koreatimes.co.kr.
240 people rescued from Seongnam shopping complex fire
Smoke billows from an eight-story shopping complex in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Friday. Yonhap
By Lee Hae-rin
A fire erupted in an eight-story shopping complex in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, at 4:37 p.m. on Friday. Of the approximately 300 people inside the building, about 240 were rescued, while around 70 managed to escape on their own.
Around 130 people suffered from smoke inhalation, with 35 transported to hospitals. However, no life-threatening cases have been reported.
Authorities believe the fire originated in the kitchen of a restaurant on the building's first floor and plan to conduct a thorough investigation into its cause.
The building, which also has five basement floors, houses underground parking lots, sports facilities, and restaurants below ground, while stores and hospitals are located above ground.
Fire authorities issued a second-stage response in the three-tier system at 4:43 p.m., citing concerns about potential casualties involving multiple people. However, the alert was scaled back to the first stage after the fire was extinguished.
The second stage of response is an alert order that mobilizes 51 to 80 fire trucks from eight to 14 fire departments.