The police looking into the explosion incident at Hanwha Aerospace, which took place last month, have obtained a statement indicating that the blast "probably came from the cleaning equipment."
The Regional Crime Investigation Team of the Daejeon Metropolitan Police Department stated on the 2nd that they obtained a testimony from the maintenance manager, who said, "Employees were cleansing the tank of the cleaning equipment when the blast occurred." This account backs up the assumption that the explosion took place while the tank was being cleaned.
Within the cleaning apparatus, there is a reservoir where sediment (leftover material) builds up when tools tainted with explosive substances are being cleaned. During that period, employees were allegedly in the middle of cleansing this reservoir.
The 56th structure, which was involved in the explosion, serves as a site for disassembling and cleansing pipelines, valves, and machinery. Employees utilize flat-tipped instruments to eliminate substances such as explosive materials. Following immersion in a water container, the apparatus goes through another round of high-pressure washing.
The vehicle undergoing cleaning was identified by authorities as a metallic part shaped like a rectangle within the high-pressure washing equipment.
Although outside vendors usually handle the pipe cleaning associated with the cleaning equipment, it has been verified that Hanwha Aerospace staff members carried out the internal cleansing of the machine.
The police have collected 17 objects, such as equipment utilized for tank cleaning and components of the cleansing machinery, and sent them to the National Forensic Service for examination.
Furthermore, authorities have detained Ga Jae-woong, the manager of Hanwha Aerospace's Daejeon facility, with accusations of professional negligence causing deaths and injuries. Meanwhile, the Daejeon Regional Labor Office has also charged Ga with breaching the Occupational Safety and Health Act, while Son Jae-woong, the company's CEO, faces allegations under the Serious Accidents Punishment Act.
At the same time, an explosion took place on June 1 in the cleaning room of the 56th building at Hanwha Aerospace's Daejeon facility in Yuseong-gu, resulting in the death of five employees and injuries to two others.