South Korea's Kumho Tire plant production suspended due to fire
Smoke rises from a Kumho Tire factory in Gwangju, South Korea, May 17, 2025. PHOTO/REUTERS
What you need to know:
- One employee and two firefighters have been injured so far at the factory in Gwangju.
Production at Kumho Tire's 073240.KS largest factory in South Korea was suspended due to a fire that broke out on Saturday morning, a company spokesperson said.
The factory in the southwestern city of Gwangju has the capacity to produce 12 million tires a year, accounting for nearly 20% of Kumho's global production capacity, the spokesperson said.
One employee and two firefighters have been injured so far, the local fire agency said, with some 355 firefighters and 100 vehicles now deployed to the site. The fire could burn for several days, the agency said.
Kumho Tire is seeking to increase production at one of its other domestic factories to offset lost production, the company spokesperson said.
The company's customers include Hyundai Motor 005380.KS, Volkswagen Group VOWG.DE and Mercedes-Benz MBGn.DE, according to its regulatory filing.
Tires from the factory in Gwangju are also exported, especially to Europe, the spokesperson said.
The fire allegedly broke out in the process of mixing chemicals with rubber, a highly inflammable material, media reports said.
