A water cannon truck suppresses the fire at the Coupang Inc logistics center in Seoknam-dong, Seohaegu, Incheon, on Monday, as the blaze enters its third day. (Incheon=Lim Se-jun)
A water cannon truck suppresses the fire at the Coupang Inc logistics center in Seoknam-dong, Seohaegu, Incheon, on Monday, as the blaze enters its third day. (Incheon=Lim Se-jun)

A fire at a Coupang Inc logistics center in Incheon's Seohaegu district has renewed scrutiny of warehouse fires across the country. As the blaze stretched into its third day, calls grew louder for a comprehensive overhaul of fire prevention and response systems at large logistics facilities.

According to the National Fire Agency, 7,353 warehouse fires broke out nationwide from 2021 through June of this year. The blazes killed 27 people and injured 282 others. Property damage totaled 1.46 trillion won ($981 million).

Warehouse fires have occurred more than 1,000 times a year. Annual figures were 1,393 in 2021, 1,434 in 2022, 1,184 in 2023, 1,231 in 2024 and 1,352 in 2025. This year, 759 warehouse fires were recorded in the first half alone.

Property damage was highest in 2021 at 564.8 billion won, largely due to the fire at Coupang Inc's Deokpyeong logistics center in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, in June of that year, which caused roughly 300 billion won in damage to the company. Damage in subsequent years stood at 194 billion won in 2022, 105.3 billion won in 2023 and 73.9 billion won in 2024, before surging to 453.2 billion won in 2025.

The sharp rise in damage last year appears to reflect a string of major warehouse fires. In May, a logistics center in Bubal-eup, Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, caught fire. In November, an Eland Fashion logistics center in the Pungse Industrial Complex in Dongnam-gu, Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, was completely destroyed.

By facility type, fires at general warehouses and storage facilities accounted for 4,625 cases, or 63 percent of the total. Casualties were also concentrated at such facilities — 14 people died and 199 were injured in fires at general warehouses and storage facilities alone. Property damage from those fires reached 1.34 trillion won, exceeding 90 percent of the total.

A water cannon truck suppresses the fire at the Coupang Inc logistics center in Seoknam-dong, Seohaegu, Incheon, on Monday, as the blaze enters its third day. (Incheon=Lim Se-jun)
A water cannon truck suppresses the fire at the Coupang Inc logistics center in Seoknam-dong, Seohaegu, Incheon, on Monday, as the blaze enters its third day. (Incheon=Lim Se-jun)

Logistics centers are particularly difficult to fight fires in because of the large volumes of goods and packaging materials stored inside, combined with their sheer size and complex internal layouts. The Coupang Inc warehouse in Incheon, where a fire broke out Saturday, has remained ablaze for the same reasons, approaching the 60-hour mark since flames first erupted at around 6:54 a.m. that day.

The fire has intensified calls to strengthen the country's response framework. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport convened a launch meeting Monday for a task force on improving fire safety regulations at logistics facilities, chaired by the director general for transport and logistics. The meeting brought together the Ministry of Interior and Safety, the National Fire Agency, the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology, private experts in architecture, fire safety and disaster prevention, and representatives from the logistics industry.

The task force plans to analyze the causes of logistics facility fires and conduct a thorough review of the current fire safety management regime, from the design stage through operations and management. It will also gather on-site input to develop fundamental improvements.

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Yun Ho-jung visited the Coupang Inc logistics center in Incheon on Monday afternoon to review the firefighting operation. Yun received briefings from the National Fire Agency, the Korean National Police Agency, Incheon City Hall and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on each agency's response. He stressed that an evacuation order had been issued for nearby residents due to signs of building collapse, and urged all relevant agencies to respond with the utmost thoroughness.

Yun also visited an evacuation shelter set up at Sincheon Elementary School in Incheon to console displaced residents, and instructed civil servants from Incheon City Hall and the Seohaegu district office to ensure support was provided without disruption. "Please make sure residents are informed quickly and accurately so they do not feel anxious, and do your best to prevent secondary damage," Yun said. "Please also make the safety of firefighters battling the dangerous blaze — amid toxic fumes and extreme heat — your top priority."

Interior Minister Yun Ho-jung (second from left) receives a briefing from fire officials before answering reporters' questions at the Coupang Inc logistics center in Seoknam-dong, Seohaegu, Incheon, on Monday, as the fire enters its third day. [Yonhap]
Interior Minister Yun Ho-jung (second from left) receives a briefing from fire officials before answering reporters' questions at the Coupang Inc logistics center in Seoknam-dong, Seohaegu, Incheon, on Monday, as the fire enters its third day. [Yonhap]

soho0902@heraldcorp.com