Two Months Later, Still Facing the 'Black Disaster'… 'Damage Reaches 540 Million Won'

[Anchor]

A major fire at a Coupang logistics center in Incheon two months ago caused severe damage to nearby schools and kindergartens. Although the education office asked Coupang to complete restorations before the new semester began, no compensation has been provided, leaving students to bear the brunt of the damage.

Reporter Cho Min-ki visited the scene.

[Reporter]

Jet-black smoke billowed endlessly, and debris from the building even flew into the playground of the park right next door.

This was the scene during the fire at the Incheon Coupang logistics center last July.

There are a total of 15 kindergartens and elementary, middle, and high schools within a 2-kilometer radius of the logistics center, with the closest one being just 200 meters away.

While the flames raged for nearly 110 hours, the children's outdoor play facilities had no way to escape the black soot.

We went to see what it looks like now, two months later.

Soot generated during the fire is still baked onto the edges of the building awnings.

When wiped by hand, jet-black dust still comes right off.

Even though it has rained and they have tried cleaning multiple times, traces still remain on the playground roofs and floors.

[Official at a Nearby Educational Facility: We decided to throw away items we thought were permeated with soot, and (otherwise) we cleaned everything. The teachers did it first.]

According to the Incheon Metropolitan City Office of Education, the estimated damages self-assessed by nearby educational facilities for exterior cleaning and replacement of ventilation equipment amounted to approximately 540 million won.

At the end of last July, the education office asked Coupang to restore the damage before the start of the semester, but a month after classes resumed, no compensation has been made.

[Official at a Nearby Educational Facility: Rain has already fallen several times, so (the soot) should have washed away. At this point, it is difficult to verify (the scale of the damage).]

[Lee Sang-hoon / Spokesperson, Incheon Metropolitan City Office of Education: The delay in compensation is continuing, so we have requested that they expedite the process.]

While some facilities have undertaken cleaning and equipment replacement using their own budgets, others have postponed these measures until after compensation or are waiting while asking Coupang to clean.

Consequently, children's outdoor activities remain restricted.

Coupang stated that the results of the loss adjustment are not out yet, adding, "We plan to take appropriate compensation measures as soon as the results come out."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
Reported by Cho Min-ki | Video by Kang Si-woo | Video Editing by Park Ji-in | Graphics by Han Heung-soo | Data courtesy of the office of Democratic Party lawmaker Ko Min-jung
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.