The National Election Commission headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province [Yonhap]
The National Election Commission headquarters in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province [Yonhap]

A fire of unknown origin broke out Wednesday around 7:50 p.m. on a wooded hillside behind the National Election Commission headquarters in Jungang-dong, Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, and was extinguished within about 10 minutes. No injuries were reported, though a portion of the surrounding woodland burned.

Police officers from the Gyeonggi Southern Police Agency's mobile unit, stationed at the NEC compound in preparation for election-day contingencies, spotted the flames and immediately began fighting the fire with extinguishers. Firefighters who responded to the NEC's emergency call deployed 11 vehicles and 33 personnel and fully extinguished the blaze at around 8:07 p.m.

Notably, the fire started on a walking path inside the compound, roughly 100 meters from the NEC's main building — an area where outside access has been strictly controlled.

"The compound is fenced along its perimeter, which appears to make it difficult for outsiders to enter," a police official said, adding that authorities would verify the exact circumstances through CCTV footage analysis. Police and fire officials are investigating the cause and circumstances of the fire with all possibilities open, including arson.


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