The CEO of Aricell, a South Korean lithium battery company, has been arrested following a massive fire in June that killed 23 people and injured nine others.
A court on Wednesday approved an arrest warrant for Park Soon-kwan. Investigators said Aricell’s board of directors is suspected of workplace safety violations. The fire was one of the worst disasters at a South Korean factory in recent years. Aricell’s parent company, S-Connect, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
After the fire, the company's director, Mr. Park, said: "We are deeply saddened by the loss of life and would like to express our deepest condolences to the bereaved families. We take great responsibility and will sincerely provide support to the deceased and their families in every way possible," he added.
His arrest comes after a police investigation found the factory was rushing to meet production deadlines. Investigators said there were a number of safety issues at the factory, including a failure to fix quality defects in batteries and the hiring of unqualified staff to handle hazardous materials.
It was also alleged that Aricell had falsified quality inspections related to military contracts. The fire broke out on June 24 after several battery cells exploded.
At the time of the fire, the Aricell factory housed approximately 35,000 battery cells on the second floor, where the batteries were inspected and packaged.
Because a lithium fire can react violently with water, firefighters had to use dry sand to extinguish the fire, which took several hours to bring under control.
Most of the victims were foreign workers, from countries such as China and Laos.
South Korea is one of the leading producers of lithium batteries, which are used in numerous products, from electric cars to laptops.
Write a comment
Comments are verified before being published.
This site is protected by hCaptcha and the hCaptcha Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.