Aricell CEO Park Quickly-kwan arrested over alleged violations of commercial security legislation.
The pinnacle of a South Korean lithium battery maker has been arrested over alleged violations of commercial security legislation following a manufacturing unit hearth that killed 23 individuals.
Suwon District Court docket accredited a warrant to arrest Aricell CEO Park Quickly-kwan over his function within the June blaze late on Wednesday, a courtroom spokesperson mentioned.
The courtroom additionally issued a warrant for Park’s son, who’s an government at Aricell, the spokesperson mentioned.
South Korea’s Ministry of Employment and Labor mentioned Park had been arrested on fees of “inflicting the deaths of 23 individuals” by using unskilled contract staff to deal with supplies that posed a critical hearth threat.
Park’s arrest marks the primary time that an organization head has been held accountable underneath legislation introduced in 2022 to penalise management for industrial accidents.
The Critical Disasters Punishment Act carries penalties of 1 12 months in jail or one billion received ($835,000) in fines for enterprise house owners and administration for accidents that trigger demise or critical harm.
Police mentioned final week that the hearth on the manufacturing unit in Hwaseong, about 45km south of Seoul, broke out as the corporate raced to fulfill a deadline with out taking steps to handle indicators of great high quality failures.
South Korea has a protracted historical past of lethal incidents blamed on corporations reducing corners.
In 2014, 476 individuals, together with 325 highschool college students, died when the Sewol ferry capsized following modifications to the vessel to extend its cargo capability.
In 1995, greater than 500 individuals died following the collapse of the Sampoong Division Retailer, which subsequent investigations revealed had been constructed with out enough help columns.
