Daejeon: Hanwha Aerospace Co., a defense affiliate under Hanwha Group, said Tuesday it has partially suspended production at its Daejeon facility after a deadly explosion at the plant. In a regulatory filing, the arms manufacturer stated it was ordered by labor authorities to halt operations at the facility, about 140 kilometers south of Seoul, due to a serious workplace accident under South Korea's occupational safety laws.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the explosion killed five people and injured two others, prompting police to launch a joint probe to investigate the exact cause of the accident. Hanwha officials reported that workers were cleaning propellant powder residue from tools used in the production of propulsion systems at the time of the explosion. Investigators plan to determine the source of the ignition and examine whether flammable materials were present at the scene.

The Daejeon plant is a significant defense facility and is designated as a secret defense factory. It manufactures various weapons systems, including the Chunmoo multiple rocket launchers and long-range surface-to-air missiles (L-SAM). The affected production lines generated 1.32 trillion won (US$870 million) in revenue last year, accounting for 4.94 percent of Hanwha Aerospace's total revenue of 26.7 trillion won, according to the company.