A fire broke out at South Korean conglomerate Young Poong's 728,000t/yr Seokpo zinc smelter in North Gyeongsang province at around 12:36 local time (03:36 GMT) today, according to local media and market participants.
The fire is understood to have started within the smelter and prompted a level one response from local fire authorities because of concerns over a potential release of hazardous gases. Firefighters have been deployed to evacuate nearby residents and conduct search operations. The cause of the fire is yet to be determined, market sources said.
Young Poong supplies most of its sulphuric acid volumes to the domestic market, with an estimated 200,000t/yr exported through the Donghae port, largely under term contracts with traders. Any disruption to sulphuric acid production would likely impact domestic availability.
The company did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publishing.
