South Korea sentences Aricell CEO to 15 years over deadly fire
The CEO of South Korean lithium battery maker Aricell, where a fire killed 23 workers last year, was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Tuesday—the toughest ruling yet for an industrial accident in the country.
Park Soon-kwan, who led Aricell at the time of the tragedy, was convicted under South Korea’s industrial safety law, which allows prison terms of more than a year for executives found responsible in fatal workplace accidents. Park’s son, also a senior company executive, received the same sentence, according to a public affairs judge at Suwon District Court, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
The court ruled that the fire was “not an unpredictable” accident, noting Park failed to implement adequate safety measures. Investigators reported that Aricell lacked proper safety protocols, did not provide sufficient worker training—many employees were temporary—and ignored warning signs of dangerous product defects while rushing to meet supply deadlines.
South Korean media noted that the previous record sentence under this law was only two years. Park has apologized but denied allegations of safety lapses at the Hwaseong factory, located south of Seoul.
President Lee Jae Myung has criticized the lack of worker protection despite the 2022 law designed to hold employers criminally accountable. In 2024, 589 workers died in job-related accidents across the country, according to government data.
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