A joint inspection has begun to determine the cause of the fire in Guryong Village, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, which was reduced to ashes by a blaze that lasted for over half a day.

Relevant agencies, including the police, fire authorities, and the Korea Electrical Safety Corporation, have been conducting an on-site joint inspection starting from 10:30 a.m. today (October 28).

Currently, most of Guryong Village is in a ruined state, reduced to ashes by the fire, and residents are unable to leave the scene, searching through their burned-down home sites with devastated expressions.

Entering the area under the control of the inspection team, residents cried out in despair, bursting into sighs such as "Everything is burned down" and "There is not a single piece of household goods left."

The joint inspection team plans to make preparations for practical inspections today (October 28), such as setting inspection zones, and investigate the exact details of the incident through further investigations later.

Following the search for the origin of the fire, the police are continuing their investigation by questioning the person who reported the fire and witnesses.

Previously, at around 3:50 p.m. yesterday (October 27), a fire that broke out in a temporary building in District 2 of Guryong Village spread to Districts 1, 3, and 7, carried by the wind.

Fire authorities deployed 232 personnel and 110 pieces of equipment, including 6 helicopters, completely extinguishing the fire at around 4:40 a.m. today (October 28), 12 hours and 49 minutes after it broke out.

Guryong Village is an unauthorized shanty town formed by displaced people who were driven out during the development of Gangnam, such as the hosting of the 1988 Seoul Olympics in the 1970s and 1980s. After being designated as an urban development zone in 2016, Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation (SH) has taken charge as the project operator to pursue redevelopment.

According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, as of October 15, 950 out of the 1,107 existing households in Guryong Village had completed relocation, leaving 157 households still remaining without having relocated yet.

Reported by Son Hyeong-an | Video by Kim Na-on | Graphics by Yook Do-hyun | Produced by SBS Digital News