Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
Electric bicycle battery suspected as cause of fatal fire
This image, released on Tuesday by the Gyeonggi Fire and Disaster Headquarters, shows firefighters moving into a housing unit of a residential building in Gunpo, Gyeonggi Province.
By Jung Min-ho
A woman was killed and a man seriously injured in a fire that broke out early Tuesday at a three-story residential building in Gunpo, Gyeonggi Province.
Firefighters and police suspect that e-bike batteries may have ignited it, saying that 10 such batteries were being charged near where the fire started, at around 1:58 a.m.
As a result, a Vietnamese woman in her 30s died. Another occupant from the same country, in his 50s, suffered burns; he was immediately taken to a nearby hospital, where he remains unconscious. The two are believed to be husband and wife.
Some 60 firefighters as well as a pump truck were deployed to the scene where they extinguished the fire in 20 minutes.
Ten other residents of the building evacuated without harm.
It is unclear what type of batteries were found there. But lithium-ion batteries are the most common kind of battery used in e-bicycles.
As e-bicycles are becoming more common on streets around the world, the batteries inside them have come under scrutiny in many countries over their risk of explosion.
According to Canadian media, 55 lithium-ion battery fires were reported in Toronto alone in 2023, a 90 percent increase from the previous year.