An explosion and fire occurred at a defence company in South Korea on Monday (June 1, 2026), killing five people and injuring two others, officials said.

The deadly incident happened at a worksite run by Hanwha Aerospace in the South Korean city of Daejeon. Other details, including the cause of the explosion, were not immediately available. Emergency official Yoon Seong-su said that the area is a government-designated security facility.

Local medical official Kim Ju-yeon said one of the two injured people was in a critical condition. She said authorities haven’t yet identified the dead people.

The site is one of Hanwha Aerospace’s key facilities where it develops large-sized propellants and surface-to-surface weapons systems, according to Yonhap news agency.

A fire at an auto parts factory in South Korea’s central city of Daejeon injured at least 53 people on Friday (March 20, 2026) as officials warned the the number of those hurt could rise.

Nam Deuk-woo, fire chief of the city’s Daedeok district, said 24 of those people were seriously hurt and authorities were searching for at least 14 others believed to have been inside the facility when the fire broke out.

Officials could not immediately confirm whether any of the injured were in life-threatening condition. Video from the scene showed thick gray smoke billowing from the complex.

The fire was reported at about 1.17 p.m., and Nam said the cause was not immediately known, but the blaze appeared to have spread rapidly with witnesses reportedly hearing an explosion.

He said the fire destroyed a factory building that firefighters were unable to enter because of concerns over the possible collapse of the structure. Efforts focused on preventing the blaze from spreading to an adjacent facility and removing chemicals from the site.

Some people were injured while jumping from the building during escape attempts, while others suffered from smoke inhalation, Nam said. Police were tracking mobile phone signals of the 14 people still unaccounted for.

More than 250 firefighters, police and other emergency personnel were deployed, along with about 100 vehicles and equipment.

President Lee Jae Myung called for the full mobilisation of personnel and equipment to contain the fire and support rescue operations.