Acting Minister of the Ministry of Interior and Safety Ko Gi-dong visited the scene of the fire at the Kumho Tire factory in Gwangju's Gwangsan District on the 18th. Acting Minister Ko inspected the firefighting situation and the monitoring of air quality in preparation for the spread of hazardous chemicals.
According to the Ministry of Interior and Safety, as of 8 a.m. on that day, the fire extinguishing rate was 80%. The air quality monitoring results showed no abnormalities.
Acting Minister Ko noted, "I appreciate the dedication and hard work of the firefighters, police, forestry, and military, as well as other agencies working to extinguish the fire," and urged, "The respective environmental agency and local government should do their best in managing the situation to prevent secondary damage from hazardous chemicals."
The firefighting authorities issued the first level of firefighting response at 7:28 a.m. the previous day, began extinguishing the fire, and elevated to the second level about 30 minutes later, transitioning to a national firefighting mobilization order at 10 a.m.