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Two sisters die in fire in Busan while parents are out working at night

Published: 04 Jul. 2025, 09:13 Updated: 04 Jul. 2025, 12:37

The remains of an apartment unit in Gijang, Busan, after a fire broke out at 10:58 p.m. on July 2. [YONHAP]

Two sisters in Busan died in a fire while their parents were out, just nine days after a similar tragedy occurred in the city last month. Police and fire authorities suspect the fire started from a multi-outlet power strip connected to the living room air conditioner, but are still investigating the exact cause.

A fire broke out at 10:58 p.m. Wednesday on the sixth floor of an apartment building in Gijang, Busan, according to police and fire authorities on Thursday. A resident of a villa across from the apartment saw black smoke and called emergency services.

Firefighters arrived on the scene seven minutes later, opened the door and found the 6-year-old sister collapsed unconscious right inside the entrance. The 9-year-old sister was found near a partition wall between the living room and the balcony designed for escape in case of emergency. The two were taken to a nearby university hospital but died at 11:36 p.m.

Authorities said the parents had put the girls to bed and left home around 30 minutes before the fire.

Police said the couple runs a fried chicken restaurant about 600 meters (0.37 miles) from the apartment. The sisters usually stayed at the restaurant with their parents until 8 p.m. and then returned home with their mother, while the father stayed behind until around midnight. The couple closed the restaurant around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, returned home briefly and then went out again.

“I often saw the girls happily playing at the restaurant in the evenings,” said Kim, who runs an auto repair shop nearby. “There was a small space in the store set up just for them. I even saw the father playing badminton with his daughters in a nearby lot around 6:30 p.m., just five hours before the fire. It’s heartbreaking.”

The fire prompted the evacuation of more than 100 residents in the building. Though it was extinguished in 35 minutes, it caused about 28 million won ($20,600) in damage, according to fire authorities. Most of the 84-square-meter (904-square-foot) apartment was damaged, especially the living room and the area near the balcony.

The remains of an apartment unit in Gijang, Busan, after a fire broke out at 10:58 p.m. on July 2. [BUSAN FIRE SERVICES]

The apartment complex, built in March 2007, houses around 150 families and does not have a sprinkler system. Multiple reports of a power outage in the building were received about two hours before the fire.

A joint investigation by police and fire authorities on Thursday morning concluded that the fire likely started from the multi-outlet strip connected to the air conditioner in the living room.

“The mother told us she left the air conditioner and a fan on when she left the house,” a police official said. “We will need further analysis of the air conditioner and wiring debris to determine the exact cause.”

A detailed forensic report is expected in about a month.

“We have several systems in place to prevent children from being left home alone at night, but they are not being used effectively,” said Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon, who visited the site. He pledged to strengthen child care support systems to prevent similar tragedies.

A similar fire on June 24 caused by an electrical short circuit broke out on the fourth floor of an apartment in Busanjin District, killing a 10-year-old girl. Her seven-year-old sister, who was critically injured, died the next day. Their parents had left the house to clean a building when the fire occurred.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY LEE EUN-JI, KIM MIN-JU, AH DAE-HUN [[email protected]]