The fire that occurred at the National Hangeul Museum in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on the 1st was completely extinguished after more than 7 hours.
The fire department noted that the fire at the Hangeul Museum, which broke out at around 8:40 a.m., was fully suppressed at 3:22 p.m., after approximately 6 hours and 42 minutes.
The fire department had previously issued a phase 1 response at 9:30 a.m., 50 minutes after the fire broke out, deploying 76 pieces of equipment and 262 personnel.
The large flames were brought under control around 12:31 p.m., but it is reported that it took time to remove combustibles accumulated inside the building and to manage hotspots.
The fire department is investigating the exact cause of the fire, which may have started when sparks flew during welding work being conducted as part of the museum's expansion project.
It is reported that there were no significant injuries. Four workers evacuated on their own after the fire broke out, and two were safely evacuated with the help of responding firefighters.
The Hangeul Museum has been closed since October of last year for expansion work, and since there were no visitors, there were no additional injuries.
However, one firefighter who entered the building during the fire suppression process was injured and transported to the hospital. It is reported that they were struck by a falling structure from the ceiling.
The fire resulted in the complete destruction of the 3rd and 4th floors of the Hangeul Museum, but there was no damage to cultural heritage. This was due to the fact that cultural heritage items were moved to a storage facility for separate management since the start of the expansion construction.
The Hangeul Museum, which promotes Hangeul and Korean culture, opened in 2014. It houses over 89,000 items related to Hangeul.
The Hangeul Museum also moved 257 items of national designated cultural heritage to the nearby National Museum of Korea to prevent additional damage.
Meanwhile, Minister Yu In-chon of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism visited the fire site around 11:30 a.m. and said, 'I am truly sorry to the public,' promising to prevent a recurrence.
He added, 'There are many multicultural facilities under the ministry, and we will thoroughly inspect and prepare to ensure their safe maintenance,' and 'We will take thorough measures so that the public is not worried.'