110 Mining Rigs Destroyed in Fire at South Korean Crypto Mining Center

Massive Fire Destroys 110 Mining Rigs at South Korean Crypto Mining Center


Tim Alper
Updated:
June 24, 2024 19:30 EDT
|
1 min read


A fire at a South Korean crypto mining center has resulted in the destruction of approximately 110 mining rigs, as confirmed by firefighters on June 24. Reports from MBC News and JTBC indicate that only 30 of the rigs were operational at the time of the fire.
What Caused the Fire at the South Korean Crypto Mining Center?
According to police and fire service officials, the fire began at 12:36 am on June 24 and was successfully extinguished within approximately 50 minutes. The incident occurred in a building located in the Samcheon District of Wansan Neighborhood in South Jeolla Province’s Jeonju.


Firefighters in Jeonju, South Korea, battling a blaze at a crypto mining center. (Source: KBS/Screenshot)
Emergency rescue workers stated that it was common knowledge that the building was equipped with crypto mining machines. The fire department reported that a section of the building, approximately 33m2 in size, was destroyed by the fire, which also consumed all 110 mining rigs. The estimated property damage caused by the fire is over 9 million won (around $6,481).
Police and fire authorities are currently investigating the exact cause of the fire and are conducting interviews with witnesses near the scene. While it is still unclear which coins the rigs were mining, officials believe that it is unlikely that an arsonist started the blaze.
Jeonju typically experiences high summer temperatures, with an average maximum temperature of around 31°C in August. However, temperatures this week have ranged from 25°C to 27°C.


Downtown Jeonju. (Source: Shamus7792003 [CC BY-SA 4.0])
Crypto Mining in South Korea
Despite the popularity of cryptocurrency in South Korea, large-scale industrial crypto mining operations are limited in the country. This is partly due to the high cost of energy, with gas prices in the industrial sector sharply increasing in recent years. Household gas prices have also risen by almost 25% in the past couple of years. The government raised electricity rates in 2023, and further price hikes are anticipated, according to
Chosun
.
As a result, many South Korean crypto mining groups have turned to investing in overseas mining projects. Additionally, scammers have targeted the South Korean crypto community with suspected “fake” crypto mining-related projects. In 2023, police warned of a surge in crypto mining-themed dating scams, where victims were encouraged to invest in overseas-based mining pools.
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