Boss jailed over deadly fire at South Korea battery plant

A South Korean court on Monday sentenced Aricell chief executive Park Soon-kwan to 15 years in prison after finding that a June 2024 fire at the Hwaseong lithium battery plant constituted an "anticipated disaster" and that Park and other company executives caused the deaths of workers. The ruling also applied to Park's son, a senior executive at the company, who was given a 15-year term and fined 1 million won. The verdict marks the longest jail term handed down under South Korea's industrial safety law, which imposes at least one year in prison for fatal incidents and can include fines up to 1 billion won.

The Hwaseong fire, which tore through the Aricell plant in Hwaseong, about 45 kilometers south of Seoul, killed 23 people, including 18 foreign workers, and left eight others injured. Prosecutors had sought a 20-year term, arguing that changes to the plant made escape routes difficult and contributed to the fatalities. Investigators said the firm did not have proper safety measures in place and did not train its workers adequately. Park apologized after the fire but denied allegations of safety lapses at the factory.

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At the time of the blaze, the Aricell factory housed an estimated 35,000 battery cells on the second floor where batteries were inspected and packaged. Because lithium fires can react violently with water, firefighters had to use dry sand to fight the blaze, which took several hours to bring under control. South Korea is a global leader in lithium battery production, and the case underscored ongoing concerns about workplace safety in the industry.

President Lee Jae Myung has said not enough is being done to protect workers and pledged to strengthen penalties for fatal workplace accidents as part of broader safety reforms. The court’s decision, coming amid rising scrutiny of corporate responsibility for industrial accidents, is expected to influence how firms address safety standards and training going forward.