Aricell CEO Arrested Over Deadly Factory Fire

Park Soon-kwan, CEO of South Korean lithium battery manufacturer Aricell, has been arrested over a factory fire in June that killed 23 people. The Suwon District Court approved warrants for Park and his son, an executive at Aricell, on charges of violating industrial safety laws by employing unqualified contract workers to handle hazardous materials. This is the first arrest under the Serious Disasters Punishment Act, implemented in 2022 to hold management accountable for workplace accidents. Investigations revealed that Aricell rushed to meet production deadlines, ignored quality defects, and manipulated data for military contracts, contributing to the fire. The blaze, one of South Korea’s worst factory disasters, required hours to control due to the intense reaction of lithium fires with water. Most victims were foreign workers from countries like China and Laos.