Fatal Fire at Eunma Apartment: "Unqualified Workers Used Tape for Electrical Wiring"

February 24, 2026, 4:57 a.m. It was an ordinary morning commute.

Kim (59) left his home without turning on the lights, careful not to wake his family as he was preoccupied with work.

That was the last time Kim saw his eldest daughter, a high school student.

Shortly after he left for work, a massive fire broke out in the kitchen and spread throughout the entire home.

His eldest daughter lost her life in the blaze.

It had been only five days since they moved into the new home.

The kitchen did not even have an induction stove installed yet.

Kim still cannot forget the lingering scent of construction materials, such as glue, paint, and thinner, that permeated the rooms.

"We moved to Daechi-dong just in time for my daughter's high school entrance because she wanted to become a doctor," Kim said yesterday (July 19). "Since she was going through puberty, we looked for a home that had been neatly renovated."

That was how they chose that particular unit out of the 4,000 households in Eunma Apartment.

It was the only unit that had been renovated, including the kitchen, flooring, bathroom, windows, and even the lighting.

For five months afterward, the cause of the fire remained a mystery.

However, the fire authorities recently released a 167-page report, which for the first time suggests a presumptive conclusion that the fire was linked to the previous interior renovation work.

According to the Gangnam Fire Station report obtained by Yonhap News, the investigation team concluded the case as having an unknown cause for the time being.

This is because all physical evidence pointing to the ignition source was destroyed by the fire.

Nevertheless, the investigation team highlighted in several parts of the report that there is an exceptional possibility that the negligence of the contractor during the electrical wiring work performed just before the move-in led to the electrical cause of the fire.

This is because it was confirmed that the wires in the kitchen ceiling, presumed to be the ignition point, were connected in a way that lacked stability and were not even covered with non-combustible protective materials.

According to the investigation, the landlord had the unit fully renovated in January of that year upon the recommendation of a real estate agent.

The interior design firm connected by the agent demolished a load-bearing wall to expand the kitchen into the adjacent small room.

This involved electrical work to combine the lighting of the two spaces into a larger light fixture.

The task involved extending the existing wires by 1 meter and 1.2 meters, respectively, to attach them to the new light fixture.

During this process, the workers connected the existing and new wiring using a method known as "pigtail splicing."

This method involves stripping the insulation from two wires, twisting the copper strands together with tools, and wrapping them tightly with electrical tape.

The worker explained to the investigation team that this method was safer than compressing and connecting wires with dedicated connectors and claimed that no accidents had ever occurred using this method.

However, the investigation team pointed out that "it weakens the mechanical strength of the connection point and increases contact resistance, which can cause heat generation," adding that "the possibility of ignition due to construction defects such as wire damage or poor connections cannot be ruled out."

The investigation also found that the workers who handled the wiring did not possess any electrical technical certifications or licenses.

Furthermore, it was revealed that they did not install protective conduits, which are typically used to cover wires to prevent fires.

In essence, multiple conditions vulnerable to heat generation were created.

Synthesizing these circumstances, the investigation team reiterated, "In the process of arbitrarily extending the wires, new and old wires were likely mixed," and "It is presumed that a localized heat-generating environment was created as multiple consecutive pigtail connection points were identified and the work was carried out without safety inspections."

They further recommended that "it is necessary to mandate procedures for verifying electrical construction licenses in apartment management regulations to fundamentally block substandard work by unqualified individuals."

It was found that the contractor did not report the wiring work in question to the management office at the time.

Typically, work involving electrical facilities must be approved by the apartment's management entity.

The construction plan obtained by Yonhap News listed heating, plumbing, wallpapering, and bathroom renovations, but electrical work was omitted.

The company representative stated during the investigation that they "must have forgotten to write it down."

"People living in apartments have no way of knowing about the wiring inside the ceiling, and that wiring is something no one should touch easily," said Kim, the bereaved family member. "A person died, and the remaining family members also suffered severe burns. I urge a strict investigation into the cause, motive, and those behind this fire."

Since the Eunma Apartment fire, safety issues, including fire-fighting facilities in aging apartments vulnerable to fire, have emerged as a major topic of discussion.

It also fueled the debate over the reconstruction of Eunma Apartment, which has been ongoing for over 20 years.

The Eunma Apartment reconstruction project received approval for its business implementation plan on the 2nd of this month.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.