Kia plant in South Korea faces production disruption after fire -Yonhap

SEOUL (Reuters) – Kia Corp has faced production disruption at one of its plants in South Korea due to a fire in its paint shop, Yonhap news agency reported on Tuesday.

Fire broke out late Monday at Kia’s No.3 plant in Hwaseong, south of capital Seoul, Yonhap reported, citing an unnamed industry source, adding that fire was put out after about 40 minutes without any casualties.

Yonhap said Kia’s union and management had agreed to offer employees working at the assembly line and paint shop time-off until Sept. 6, adding that normal operation would be inevitable due to the absences of some workers.

Yonhap said the affected line produces Kia’s K5, K8 and EV6 vehicles, adding that it is not yet clear how much of vehicle output would be affected by the suspension.

Kia was not immediately available for comment outside normal business hours.