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Deadly fire at Daechi-dong apartment highlights safety concerns, parking problems in older buildings

Published: 25 Feb. 2026, 15:58

A fire occurred in a unit on the eighth floor of a Eunma Apartments building in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, in the early hours of Feb. 24. [LEE GYU-RIM]

A deadly fire at Eunma Apartments in Daechi-dong, Gangnam District, southern Seoul, early Tuesday has raised concerns about fire safety in older residential buildings and access issues caused by chronic parking shortages.

The blaze broke out at around 6:18 a.m. in a unit on the eighth floor of the complex, according to the Gangnam Fire Station. A teenage girl who was inside the apartment was killed.

The teenager’s mother and younger sister were injured, suffering burns and smoke inhalation, and were taken to the hospital. A woman living on an upper floor was also treated for smoke inhalation. None of the injured are in life-threatening conditions, authorities said.

Firefighters brought the main flames under control at around 6:48 a.m. and fully extinguished the fire at 7:36 a.m., about an hour after it began. A total of 143 personnel and about 40 pieces of equipment were mobilized, while roughly 70 residents evacuated on their own.

Min Su-ji, a woman who lives in the unit below the affected apartment, said she heard someone shouting that there was a fire around 6 a.m.

“When I went outside, I saw flames and smoke shooting upward, reaching as high as the 12th floor,” she said. “The mother and one daughter from the eighth floor had come down and were shouting that one child hadn’t made it out.”

Holding back tears, Min added, “My daughter is also in middle school. As a mother raising a daughter, my heart aches hearing what happened upstairs.”

A fire occurred in a unit on the eighth floor of a Eunma Apartments building in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, in the early hours of Feb. 24. [LEE GYU-RIM]

Residents who witnessed the incident said they heard repeated popping or explosive sounds.

“There were loud banging noises, and thick black smoke was rising,” said a resident surnamed Kim who lives on the ninth floor.

Lee Young-ju, an assistant professor of fire safety at Kyungil University, pointed to the possibility of small-scale explosions occurring in confined spaces if natural gas is exposed to heat.

“We need to wait for the forensic investigation results, but such phenomena can occur in ordinary homes or enclosed areas during a fire,” he said.

Some experts pointed to structural limitations in older apartment complexes. Eunma Apartments was built in 1979. Sprinkler systems have been mandatory in buildings of six stories or more since 2018, but the requirement was not applied retroactively to existing structures due to cost concerns, according to Kong Ha-sung, a professor of fire and disaster prevention at Woosuk University.

“Older apartment buildings require especially careful safety management,” Prof. Kong said. “Residents should ensure fire doors and extinguishers are properly maintained and keep stairwells clear of obstructions.”

Surveillance footage disclosed by JTBC shows multiple fire engines and ambulances having difficulty entering the grounds of Eunma Apartments in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, shortly after a fire broke out in the early hours of Feb. 24. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Access to the scene was also reportedly hampered by vehicles that were double-parked within the complex. According to footage disclosed by JTBC, multiple fire engines and ambulances had difficulty entering the apartment grounds shortly after the fire broke out.

“We moved our car immediately, but some residents couldn’t be reached, so their cars couldn’t be moved,” a resident told reporters. “At one point, we had to push vehicles out of the way ourselves.”

Eunma Apartments is a large complex with more than 4,000 units. It does not have an underground parking garage and provides just 0.7 parking spaces per household, leading to chronic parking shortages.

The complex pursued reconstruction plans since the late 1990s, but was stalled due to safety inspection issues and conflicts between homeowners. The redevelopment plan was finalized in September last year, and the complex is slated to be rebuilt into 5,893 units in towers up to 49 stories by 2030. The estimated project cost is 6.59 trillion won ($4.61 billion), the largest ever for a redevelopment project in Korea.

Despite its shabby condition, Eunma Apartments has proven popular for rent among education-focused families, as it is located near prestigious schools and private academies.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY OH SAM-GWON, LEE GYU-RIM, SHIN HYE-YEON [[email protected]]