Major blackout hits Seoul, Gyeonggi

People eat lunch under emergency lighting following a blackout at Techno Mart in Sindorim, Guro, Seoul, Sunday. / Yonhap

By Lee Kyung-min

A major blackout hit southwestern Seoul, Sunday, inconveniencing more than 190,000 households in the capital and southern Gyeonggi Province.

According to the Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) and local governments, the blackout happened at 12:53 a.m. following a malfunction at the Yeongseo power substation in Gwangmyeong, and lasted almost two hours.

KEPCO said emergency crews finished work at 1:15 p.m. to restore power through the nearby Sinyangjae substation.

Affected regions included Gwangmyeong City in Gyeonggi Province and Guro-gu, Gumcheon-gu, Gwanak-gu and Yeongdeungpo-gu in Seoul. Some areas have yet to have their supply restored.

Almost 200 traffic lights stopped working, causing confusion to drivers and pedestrians. However, with police controlling traffic through hand signals, no accidents were reported.

There were 410 calls to police and fire stations for help from people trapped inside elevators.

Emergency calls also included reports on electricity sparks near transformers.

More than 30 teams were sent to two locations where residents mistook smoke from an emergency power supply system as signs of a fire.

Many emergency reports were made from Techno Mart in Sindorim, Guro, Seoul. A wedding scheduled there at 1 p.m. was delayed, and people left the building without incident.

Moviegoers inside Lotte Cinema, Gasan, demanded refunds after movie theaters lost power.

Local governments received calls from restaurants and other shopping malls saying they suffered financial losses after refrigerated food went bad.

Other calls included some credit card readers failing.

KEPCO Chairman Cho Hwan-ik issued an apology.

“KEPCO is wholly responsible for the blackout and we offer our apologies for causing inconvenience to the public who had been enjoying their weekend,” he said.

“We will operate an emergency control center to monitor the situation and swiftly compensate people for financial losses,” he added.

KEPCO said it was investigating what caused the blackout, adding that it was uncertain when the malfunction at Yeongseo substation would be resolved.

The public expressed frustration. An internet user said, “Now, tell us you will increase electricity fees again, KEPCO. Not after this!”