Boss jailed over deadly fire at South Korea battery plant

A South Korean court sentenced him to 15 years in prison for a lithium battery manufacturer’s boss after a deadly fire last year.

In June 2024, about 45km (28 miles) south of the capital Seoul, a fire in a facility in Hwaseong City killed 23 people, including 18 foreign workers and injured eight people.

The court found that the fire was a “expected disaster” and that Aricell CEO Park soon caused the deaths of KWAN and other executives.

In accordance with the country’s Industrial Security Law, it is the longest imprisonment that punishes up to 1 billion Won ($ 717,000; $ 530,000) for at least one year imprisonment or fatal events.

Prosecutors searched for a period of 20 years and argued that the company executives made changes in the facility, which means that it was difficult for workers to escape from the fire.

The son of the Park, the senior manager of the company, was sentenced to 15 years in prison and won 1 million.

Inspectors, the company does not have suitable security measures and did not train workers enough, he said.

Park CEO issued an apology after the fire, but rejected the allegations of security tours at the factory.

During the fire, the Aricell factory had an estimated 35,000 battery cells on the second floor, where the batteries were controlled and packaged.

Since lithium fires could react intensively with water, the firefighters had to use dry sand to fight fire, which took a few hours to control.

South Korea is a leading manufacturer of lithium batteries used in many items from electric cars to laptops.

Lee Jae Myung, the head of the country, said that it was not enough to protect workers from death or injuries in South Korean workplaces, and promised to increase the penalties against businesses where fatal accidents occurred.