Photo : YONHAP News
Prosecutors indicted the head of the battery manufacturer Aricell and his son, an executive at the company, over a fire that killed 23 people and injured at least eight others at a lithium battery plant in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, in June.
At a press briefing Tuesday, the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office said it had indicted Aricell chief Park Soon-kwan under the Serious Accidents Punishment Act and the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
His son Park Joong-eon, Aricell’s head of factory management, was indicted on charges of causing death and injury through occupational and gross negligence and violating the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
Both father and son are awaiting trial behind bars, while six other individuals and four corporate bodies have been indicted without detention in connection with the fire.
The prosecution believes Aricell not only failed to take health and safety precautions, but illegally dispatched 320 untrained workers to the factory, leading to a fire that started with a faulty battery and spread rapidly.
Aricell is also accused of attempting to conceal an earlier accident that severed a worker’s finger.
The son also faces charges of obstruction of business over allegations that he falsified battery testing data for an inspection by the Defense Agency for Technology and Quality, under a battery supply contract with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration.