Fire at Gyeongbok Palace put out after 15 mins, damages gate

Parts of Sambimun, the outer gate leading to Jaseondang Hall at Gyeongbok Palace in central Seoul, is seen damaged after a fire broke out there around 5:30 a.m., Saturday. Yonhap

A fire broke out at Gyeongbok Palace early Saturday, and partially damaged a wooden gate and pillar at the royal palace, although it was extinguished in about 15 minutes, the state heritage agency said. No casualties were reported.

The fire broke out near Sambimun, the outer gate leading to Jaseondang Hall at Gyeongbok Palace, in central Seoul at around 5:35 a.m. and was put out at around 5:50 a.m. by a safety guard on patrol, according to the Korea Heritage Service (KHS).

Fire authorities later conducted an on-site inspection, the KHS said, citing spontaneous combustion as a potential cause of the fire.

No signs of personnel or inflammable material were reportedly found at the site of the fire.

Huh Min, the administrator of the KHS, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that an investigation to determine the exact cause of the fire is under way.

Huh vowed to regularly operate an around-the-clock disaster center to prevent similar accidents amid the dry season.

Gyeongbok Palace is the largest of Seoul's royal complexes, with the number of visitors reaching around 6.9 million last year. The figure accounted for 38.7 percent of all visitors to royal palaces and tombs.