Coupang Fulfillment Services (CFS) said on the 20th it will deliver about 13,500 masks that students and staff at eight elementary schools near the Seoknam-dong logistics center in Incheon, selected in consultation with the Incheon Office of Education, can use. The aim is to support health management for residents struggling after the fire.
The schools to receive support include Sinhyeon Elementary School and Sinhyeonbuk Elementary School, where temporary shelters have been set up, as well as Seoknam Elementary, Sinseok Elementary, Seoknamseo Elementary, Gahyeon Elementary, Cheonma Elementary, and Bonghwa Elementary. About 4,500 students and staff at these schools will receive masks.
At the temporary shelters set up at Sinhyeonbuk Elementary and Sinhyeon Girls' Middle School, nurses from Coupang's employee-tailored health program, the "Coupang Care Center," will help manage residents' health. Professional nursing staff will stay at the shelters to check residents' health conditions and support services such as blood pressure checks and the provision of over-the-counter medicine. They will also quickly identify residents who develop health issues during shelter life and connect them with necessary measures.
For residents who need hospital treatment, shuttle buses will operate. CFS agreed in consultation with general hospitals in Seohae District, Incheon, to support transportation from the shelters to hospitals and cover medical expenses.
Shelters will also have dedicated refrigerators storing ice cream and ice water for residents to use at any time.
Starting on the 19th, the day after the fire, CFS has been delivering mattresses, underwear, and wet wipes to the shelter at Sinhyeon Elementary and providing breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It also secured 200 sets of emergency relief supplies—consisting of mattresses, comforters, pillows, and towels—at a nearby fulfillment center. Of these, 30 sets were delivered to the Sinhyeon Elementary shelter and 100 sets to the Sinhyeon Girls' Middle School shelter.
Coupang plans to work with relevant authorities, including the Seohae District Office, to identify additional relief supplies needed on-site and provide swift support to residents.
Earlier, on the 19th, National Assembly member Kim Gyo-heung and local government officials visited the temporary shelter at Sinhyeon Elementary and asked Coupang officials, including CFS CEO Jeong Jong-cheol, to support local residents' health and safety. CFS plans to continue cooperating with relevant authorities, including the Seohae District Office, the district council, and the Incheon Office of Education, to strengthen health management and living support for evacuees.
Meanwhile, the fire that started at 6:54 a.m. on the 18th on the sixth floor of the Coupang 32 Logistics Center in Seoknam-dong, Seohae District, Incheon, has continued into a third day. More than 50 hours after the fire broke out, it has not been fully extinguished, and the aftermath has led to evacuation orders for nearby residents and recommended school closures in the area.
CFS CEO Jeong Jong-cheol said, "We once again bow our heads in apology to local residents suffering due to the fire," and added, "We will do everything we can to help with local residents' health management and a safe life at the shelters."