4-year prison term finalized for battery maker Aricell CEO over deadly plant fire
The Supreme Court on Tuesday finalized a four-year prison sentence for the head of lithium battery maker Aricell for failing to take enough safety measures at the company's factory where a deadly fire killed 23 workers and injured nine in 2024. Aricell CEO Park Soon-kwan had initially been sentenced to 15 years in prison by a district court on charges of violating his obligations to secure safety…
The Supreme Court recently approved a four-year prison sentence for Aricell CEO Park Soon-kwan following a deadly factory fire in 2024 that resulted in 23 fatalities and nine injuries. The initial 15-year prison term imposed by a district court was based on charges of violating safety obligations at the Hwaseong factory, which lies 45 kilometers south of Seoul. This was the harshest penalty ever issued to a CEO following the implementation of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act in 2022.
Under this legislation, business owners and CEOs could face a minimum one-year prison sentence and a maximum fine of 1 billion won ($753,000) for fatal industrial accidents. However, the appeals court reduced Park's sentence to four years, dismissing a crucial charge that the company failed to install an emergency exit on the second floor of the factory. The court emphasized that safety regulations do not mandate exits on every floor.
Written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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