A South Korean court on Tuesday sentenced the CEO of lithium battery maker Aricell, Park Soon-kwan, to 15 years in prison over a factory fire that killed 23 workers in June 2024.
Delivering judgment, the Suwon District Court said Aricell’s management “prioritised profit over worker safety,” citing multiple lapses that contributed to one of the country’s worst industrial disasters in years.
Most of the victims were Chinese nationals employed as dispatched workers.The fire broke out at Aricell’s lithium battery plant, where prosecutors said safety inspections were neglected, emergency exit routes were inaccessible, and a locked door worsened casualties.
The court stressed that the disaster “was not an unforeseeable misfortune but one bound to happen given the company’s gross negligence.”Park was convicted under the Serious Accidents Punishment Act and the Industrial Safety and Health Act. His son, who served as the company’s general manager, also received 15 years in prison and a fine of one million won ($717).
Court documents revealed that Park gave “almost no instructions on worker safety,” instead focusing on business performance reports prepared by his son.In his final hearing in July, Park apologised to grieving families, saying:“On that painful day, many people lost their precious family members.
No words can be enough, but once again I apologise to the bereaved families.”The court ruling highlighted the dangers of an industrial culture that prioritises production and profit over the safety of its workers, particularly dispatched labourers working under precarious conditions.
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