A fire broke out again at the SK Hynix Cheongju plant, raising concerns about safety management systems as a similar incident occurred just over ten days ago.
According to industry sources, the fire ignited at 9:55 a.m. on June 12 in the gas room on the second floor of the M15X factory at the Cheongju Campus. The fire was extinguished within about ten minutes after the sprinkler system activated.
The blaze reportedly occurred while six workers were mixing fluorine and nitrogen in a cabinet within the gas room. One worker sustained a first-degree burn on the ankle.
In response to the fire, SK Hynix temporarily evacuated approximately 4,000 employees from the campus due to potential gas leakage. Thirteen individuals who experienced dizziness were transported to the company's on-site hospital, but all were confirmed to be fine except for the worker with burns.
Fire department measurements indicated that there was no actual gas leak. The company also stated that there was no disruption to production equipment.
The recurrence of incidents in the same process is concerning. On June 1, a fire occurred in the gas room connecting the M15X and M15 factories, resulting in a minor fluorine leak. At that time, over 3,600 employees were evacuated, and several workers were treated for exposure to fluorine or hydrofluoric acid.
Following the previous incident, SK Hynix initiated a week-long "Company-wide Safety System Overhaul Week" starting June 4. However, the occurrence of another fire immediately after this overhaul necessitates a thorough investigation into the cause and a review of on-site operational procedures.
A representative from SK Hynix stated, "Since the incident occurred during the same process, we will conduct a thorough investigation to prevent recurrence, and there is no issue with production equipment operation."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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