Explosion at Hanwha Aerospace facility in Daejeon leaves five dead

Five people have been killed in an explosion at a Hanwha Aerospace facility in Daejeon on Monday. Two others are injured, according to officials. 

The explosion reportedly occurred at the plant's cleaning room, where seven workers were on duty at the time. Hanwha Aerospace manufactures aircraft engines, space launch vehicle engines, weapons and ammunition.

Fire authorities received an initial report at around 11 a.m., followed by roughly 30 emergency calls from people who said they heard an explosion and saw heavy smoke rising from the facility.

Police and fire authorities said they will further investigate the exact cause once the fire is contained.

President Lee Jae Myung has ordered that “all available resources be deployed for rescue and recovery operations.”

Candidate Chong Won-o, the ruling Democratic Party candidate in the Seoul mayoral race, also announced that he would temporarily stop his election campaign.

Hanwha Aerospace's Daejeon plant has seen two previous explosions. In May 2018, a blast killed two workers on the spot, with three others later dying from severe burns at the hospital. The following February, an explosion and fire at the plant's Building 70 propellant demolding room killed three more workers.

Update, June 1, 2026: Added casualty reports and details about statements by President Lee Jae Myung and Seoul mayoral candidate Chong Won-o.

BY KIM JI-YE [[email protected]]