Kia halts operations at S.Korea auto facility after accident at supplier

By Heekyong Yang and Ju-min Park

SEOUL (Reuters) - Automaker Kia Corp said on Wednesday it had suspended most operations at a major manufacturing complex in South Korea because parts supplies were disrupted after a deadly accident at one of its suppliers.

Poongki Industrial Co Ltd, a Kia supplier that makes chassis parts, halted its operations after one worker was killed by a forklift on Tuesday, causing supply disruptions at the automaker's plants, a Kia spokesperson said.

Kia said in a regulatory filing it had stopped production at three main assembly plants at its Gwangju complex, except for bus and military-related product manufacturing. The company said the timing for a resumption had not been determined yet.

Labour authorities are investigating the accident, putting a halt to forklift truck operations at the Kia supplier's factory, a labour ministry spokesperson said.

Poongki was not immediately available for comment.

Kia is checking on alternative sources of supply for the components made by Poongki, according to the automaker's spokesperson.

The manufacturing complex located in the southwestern city of Gwangju supplies both domestic and overseas customers, producing 477,000 vehicles a year including some sports utility vehicles, according to the company's website.

South Korea's second-biggest automaker has two other plants in the country.

Kia shares closed down 0.7%, less than the 0.9% fall in benchmark index KOSPI.

"It appears to be a temporary setback for Kia, hence we are not seeing much impact on Kia's share moves," said Lee Jae-il, an analyst at Eugene Investment & Securities.

(Reporting by Ju-min Park and Heekyong Yang; Editing by Ed Davies and Jamie Freed)