The company said it halted production lines from June 4 to 5, except for some essential processes, under the supervision of each site manager and safety officer.
The affected sites include plants in Daejeon, Boeun in North Chungcheong Province and Yeosu in South Jeolla Province, which produce and handle propellants and charges. The shutdown also applies to its Changwon plants in South Gyeongsang Province, which manufacture K-9 self-propelled howitzers, armored vehicles and aircraft engines, as well as R&D campuses in Daejeon, Pangyo and Asan.
It marks the first time Hanwha Aerospace has simultaneously suspended operations at multiple sites since the launch of its integrated entity in 2023, following the merger of Hanwha Aerospace, Hanwha Defense and Hanwha Corp.’s defense division.
The company said the decision was made because securing a safe workplace environment takes priority over potential production disruptions, as part of efforts to prevent risks similar to the accident at the Daejeon plant.
During the inspections, Hanwha Aerospace will review risks related to fires, explosions, serious accidents, unsafe facilities and working conditions, risk assessments and past accident cases. The company will also reexamine machinery, work environments and structures, while checking whether corrective measures and recurrence prevention steps from risk assessments over the past three years have been properly implemented.
Hanwha Aerospace said it has also begun reviewing the expansion of unmanned automation for processes related to the production and handling of propellants.
Special safety training for employees will also be conducted during the two-day period. Each site will provide training on similar accident cases at home and abroad, workers’ right to stop work in the event of imminent danger and emergency response plans.
Hanwha Group said its petrochemical affiliates, including Hanwha Corp., Hanwha Solutions, Hanwha TotalEnergies, Hanwha Impact and YNCC, will also form CEO-led inspection teams by June 10 to review workplace safety, production processes and environmental management at their domestic and overseas sites.
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