Pohang Steelworks caught fire again in two weeks...Even the class action.

[Anchor]
Another fire broke out in two weeks at POSCO Pohang Steelworks' 3 Finex plant, which was shut down due to a fire on the 10th.

Civic groups are even preparing a class action lawsuit, saying POSCO is not properly taking safety measures because it is in a hurry to cut costs.

Reporter Kim Geun-woo covered it.

[Reporter]
Black smoke billows through the night sky over the sea.

The fire broke out at POSCO Pohang Steel Mill's 3 Finex plant.

Another fire broke out in two weeks following the 10th.

The late night explosion and smoke swept away the citizens' surprise once again.

POSCO restored the factory and restarted it in nine days, saying there would be no disruption in production during the last fire.

However, three days after the restart, the same factory caught fire again.

It is reported that the fire started when the outside was damaged by the melting furnace during the test operation stage.

Some point out that safety measures were poorly implemented while rushing to recover.

[Kim Chan-oh / Honorary Professor of Seoul National University of Science and Technology] I've been managing safety with the idea of putting safety first even if there's a stop to the blast furnace. Now, the safety management activities in the field are very distracting..]

At Pohang Steelworks, the blast furnace stopped operating due to a fire on electric lines late last year,

Earlier this year, there were a series of large and small fires, including fires in communication lines and coal transport facilities.

The civic group decided to launch a class action lawsuit, saying it suffered from the sound of explosions and shock waves due to repeated accidents.

[Kim Seok-hwan / Pohang Youth Environmental Solidarity: Pohang is traumatized by earthquakes. It's very sensitive to vibrations that happen at dawn. POSCO has so far forced its citizens to make sacrifices. I think the perception of running a company should change now.

POSCO said it is sorry for causing concern and said it will be reborn as a safe steel mill by thoroughly managing the facilities.

Police are investigating the cause of two fires in a row.

I'm Kim Geunwoo from YTN.

Reporter for filming
: Jeon Dae-woong