What happened

A small-diameter pipe connected downstream of a high-pressure steam valve detached or ruptured in the fifth-floor boiler room at Korea Midland Power's Shin Seocheon power station. Four workers had entered the boiler room to investigate an error message during a scheduled valve inspection. Escaping high-pressure steam and pipe debris struck the group. A subcontractor in his 50s suffered cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead after transport to hospital; two Korea Midland Power employees and another contractor were injured, with reports describing one serious and two lesser injuries or burns. No fire followed the explosion. The operator stopped the plant, while police, firefighters and labor authorities opened investigations into the pipe failure, workplace safeguards and potential application of South Korea's Serious Accidents Punishment Act. Contemporary English reporting referred generically to the Seocheon Thermal Power Plant, but Korean reports and facility records identify the site as the 1,018 MW Shin Seocheon Power Station operated by Korea Midland Power.

When cited sources give different casualty, damage or spill figures for this event, they’re reported side by side above rather than merged into one number. See how confidence levels work.