Home > National > Social Affairs

Bread supply fears grow after SPC factory fire damages production facility

Published: 04 Feb. 2026, 13:56 Updated: 04 Feb. 2026, 18:10

Smoke is seen rising from the SPC Samlip plant inside Sihwa Industrial Complex in Siheung, Gyeonggi, on Feb. 3. [YONHAP]

Bread supply concerns are growing among major restaurant chains as operations at SPC Samlip’s Sihwa factory in Siheung, Gyeonggi, remain completely halted for a second day following a fire.

Police and fire authorities began a joint on-site inspection at 10 a.m. Wednesday to determine the cause of the blaze. Production across the entire facility, including the production area known as the R building, has been suspended to allow for safety checks and to preserve the scene.

In particular, the third floor of the R building — where the fire is believed to have started — houses the key lines that produce sliced bread and hamburger buns, leaving the timeline for resuming production uncertain until the investigation is complete and the damaged equipment is restored.

The fire broke out at 2:59 p.m. Tuesday on presumably the third floor of the production building at the Sihwa factory in Jeongwang-dong, Siheung, and was fully extinguished about eight hours later at 10:49 p.m. Three workers suffered minor injuries after inhaling smoke, while about 500 employees evacuated. There were no further casualties.

The factory is the same site where a female worker in her 50s died in May 2025 after getting stuck in machinery.

SPC Samlip supplies bread products to major food-service brands in Korea, including Shinsegae Food, Burger King, Lotteria and KFC.

Smoke and flames rise from SPC Samlip’s Sihwa plant in Siheung, Gyeonggi, after a fire broke out at the facility on Feb. 3. [YONHAP]

A bigger concern is that the situation could drag on. It is difficult to predict when production would resume, according to industry sources, given the amount of damage to equipment and potential structural safety issues. Even if other production lines are brought online, it could take considerable time to maintain the quality that meets existing supply standards under different manufacturing conditions.

A total of 25 personnel took part in the joint inspection, including 13 police officers — among them investigators from the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency’s forensic unit — and 12 firefighters. The inspection will focus on pinpointing the exact origin and cause of the fire, centering on the third-floor production line in the R building where the blaze is believed to have first broken out.

“We plan to closely examine the suspected ignition point as soon as on-site safety is secured,” a police official said. “We will consider whether to conduct an additional joint inspection with relevant agencies, including the National Forensic Service, depending on the initial findings.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JEONG JAE-HONG [[email protected]]