Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry Comments on Disappearance of Citizen After South Korea Factory Fire

In South Korea, a fire broke out at one of the factories at the end of January 2026. After the incident, it emerged that a citizen of Kazakhstan was missing. At the same time, human remains were found in the ashes. The situation was commented on by Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Orda.kz reports.

According to Korean media, the fire occurred on January 30 at about 14:55 at a wet wipes and diaper factory in North Chungcheong Province. At the time of the incident, there were 83 workers at the plant. Eighty-one people were evacuated from the building, but after a roll call it was found that two workers — a citizen of Kazakhstan and a citizen of Nepal — were missing.

On March 10, the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said at a briefing in Astana that the state is keeping the situation under control and remains in contact with the South Korean side.

Remains were found and sent for examination. As of today, we have not yet received the results. As soon as information is provided by the Korean side, the relatives will be informed.said Yerlan Zhetybayev. 

Earlier, Orda.kz reported that a Kazakh woman who had gone missing in Vietnam was found four days later. She is now with the consul.

Original author: Alina Elgeldina

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