South Korea halts battery maker's operations as it probes deadly blaze (updated)

S Connect Co

26/06/2024 08:56

(Adds military contract, fire department report; paragraphs
9-13)
    By Hyunsu Yim and Ju-min Park
       SEOUL, June 26 (Reuters) - South Korean authorities
ordered a halt on Wednesday to the operations of a manufacturer
of lithium batteries after a fire killed 23 people, as they
investigate three company officials for suspected safety
violations.
    Monday's fire at unlisted battery maker Aricell was one of
the deadliest industrial accidents of recent years. Dozens of
South Korean workers lose their lives on the job each year,
despite tougher laws and measures to improve safety.
    The company in the industrial hub of Hwaseong southwest of
Seoul, the capital, was told to shut its only factory for
inspection, Min Gil-soo, an official of the labour ministry,
told a briefing.
    Police raided the company's offices on Wednesday, the Yonhap
news agency said. Authorities did not identify the company
officials being investigated, however. Safety code violations
can lead to jail terms for fatal accidents.
    Aricell Chief Executive Park Soon-kwan apologised on Tuesday
for the fire, but said the company had followed all safety
regulations and training requirements. 
    Flames quickly engulfed the factory, where 35,000 lithium
batteries were stored, and the spread of toxic smoke probably
rendered workers unconscious within seconds, fire officials have
said.       
    Only three of the dead, all of them South Korean men, have
been identified. The rest, including 17 Chinese, have yet to be
identified as their bodies suffered severe damage in the fire.
    Investigators are trying to determine the cause of the blaze
amid questions about Aricell's hiring of foreign workers on a
temporary basis and whether they received adequate safety
training.
    The office of a lawmaker, Kim Sung-hoi, provided a copy of a
March inspection report by the Hwaseong fire department that
showed it had flagged serious risks, including possible "rapid
combustion" at the building where the fire broke out.
    The fire department was not available for comment.
    Set up in 2020, Aricell has 48 full-time employees and makes
lithium primary batteries for sensors and radio communication
devices.
    It also supplies batteries to the military for use in some
communication and crypto devices, a spokesperson for South
Korea's defence procurement agency said.
    The agency's annual safety inspections cover suppliers in
some categories, such as firearms and chemicals, but exclude
battery makers such as Aricell, the spokesperson added.
    Its parent, S-Connect  096630.KQ , supplies lithium-ion
battery parts to Samsung SDI  006400.KS , one of the country's
major secondary battery makers.

 (Reporting by Hyunsu Yim, Jack Kim and Ju-min Park;  Editing by
Edwina Gibbs and Clarence Fernandez)
 ((jack.kim@thomsonreuters.com; +822 6936 1455;))