Fire hits the Kumho Tire Plant
- Doyoung Lim
- Jul 1
- 1 min read
July 1, 2025
Doyoung Lim
SEOUL, May 17, 2025 - A fire broke out on Saturday Morning at Kumho Tire’s largest factory in South Korea. The factory, located in the southern city of Gwanju, which produces 12 million tires annually, was engulfed by flames - about 20% of Kumho Tire’s global output.
According to the Gwanju Fire Department, a fire started on May 16 at around 7 a.m. in the western rubber storage of Kumho Tire’s Gwanju plant, roughly 7,000 square meters, the size of a soccer field, which holds around 20 tons of rubber.
So far, one employee and two firefighters have been injured. 355 firefighters and 100 fire vehicles were dispatched to the site. Officials stated that 80% of the area has been extinguished, and the risk of fire spreading to other areas within the factory is currently low.
The total affected area is estimated to be the size of five soccer fields. Local governments have also expressed concerns about potential air and river pollution by firefighting. However, the pollution level did not exceed the standard level, and no excavation orders have been issued for residents.
