A South Korean court has sentenced Aricell CEO Park Soon-kwan to 15 years in prison for his role in a 2024 factory fire that killed 23 people, including 18 foreign workers, and injured eight others.
The Hwaseong blaze was deemed “an anticipated disaster,” with investigators finding the company failed to implement proper safety measures or provide adequate training.
Park’s son, also a senior executive, received the same prison term and a fine.
The sentence is the harshest yet under South Korea’s industrial safety law, as prosecutors highlighted plant modifications that trapped workers inside.
Authorities in South Korea have released footage of the explosion which caused a deadly factory fire at the Aricell plant in Hwaseong city, south of the capital Seoul pic.twitter.com/bLIpkwcNgI
— RT (@RT_com) June 27, 2024
