South Korea court approves arrest for battery maker CEO over deadly fire (updated)

S Connect Co

29/08/2024 01:29

(Updates with court confirmation, paragraphs 1, 3, 4)
       SEOUL, Aug 29 (Reuters) - The CEO of a South Korean
lithium battery maker that was struck by a fire that killed 23
people in June has been arrested after a court approved a
warrant on allegations of violating industrial safety law, a
judge said on Thursday. 
    Park Soon-kwan, the CEO of Aricell, which is majority owned
by S-Connect  096630.KQ , apologised after the fire but said at
the time the company had followed all required safety
precautions and training for staff. 
    The Suwon District Court, which has jurisdiction for the
city of Hwaseong where the factory is located, approved the
warrant for Park's detention late on Wednesday due to the
gravity of the allegations against him, a public affairs judge
said by telephone.
    The court also approved a detention warrant for Park's son,
who is an executive at the company, she said. 
    Park's lawyer could not be immediately reached for comment. 
    Entering the court for a hearing on Wednesday, Park did not
answer reporters' questions about the charges against him but
said "I'm sorry," television footage showed. 
    Authorities investigating the fire released a report on
Friday saying a rush to meet a supply deadline and a lack of
action to address signs of dangerous quality defects in
batteries that had been produced led to the fire.
    Hiring temporary workers who did not receive proper safety
and emergency escape training to make up for a backlog of
production contributed to the large number of casualties, police
and labour ministry officials said. 

 (Reporting by Jack Kim; Editing by Jamie Freed)
 ((jack.kim@thomsonreuters.com; +822 6936 1455;))