Heavy sentence handed down for 2024 Aricell battery plant accident

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Heavy sentence handed down for 2024 Aricell battery plant accident

Published: 23 Sep. 2025, 19:46 Updated: 23 Sep. 2025, 19:54

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Families of victims who died in a fire that broke out at an Aricell battery plant shed tears as they speak to reporters after a court ruling at the Suwon District Court on Sept. 23 in Gyeonggi. [YONHAP]

The Suwon District Court on Tuesday sentenced the CEO of Aricell, Park Soon-kwan, and his son Park Joong-eon, to 15 years in prison for the death of 23 workers in their lithium battery plant last year — the longest-ever sentence since the Serious Accidents Punishment Act took effect in 2022. While the sentence was significant, it still amounted to “less than one year per death,” noted 54-year-old Choi Hyeon-ju, the wife of late Aricell employee Kim Byeong-cheol, who died in the fire.

“We lost everything after the accident, but today was the first time I saw Park Soon-kwan cover his face in distress,” she said, after hearing the sentence.

Rehired after repeated requests, blamed after the disaster

Choi’s husband Kim was the head of the research center at Aricell at the time of the tragedy, in charge of primary battery research and quality management. He first joined the company in 2021 but later resigned. Park Joong-eon personally visited the family’s home in Cheongju, North Chungcheong, several times to persuade him to return, and in 2023, he finally did. Park Joong-eon had been close to the family, once giving chocolate to Kim’s daughter before her college entrance exam, while Choi had given him pumpkin juice and seaweed soup after the birth of his first child.

So it was Park Joong-eon's call, more than anyone else's, that Choi waited anxiously for on June 24, 2024, the day of the disaster, to explain to her why her husband had not been reachable on the day of the accident. Instead, the only message she received was a text from the fire department: “The late Kim Byeong-cheol has been placed at Songsan Funeral Hall.” No word came from Aricell.

Choi Hyeon-ju, the wife of late Kim Byeong-cheol, who died in a fire that broke out at an Aricell battery plant in 2024, looks at her phone during an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo reporter. [CHOI MO-RAN]

What shocked her more was Aricell’s defense strategy. During investigations and the trial, the lawyers for Park Soon-kwan and Park Joong-eon argued that Kim was to blame. They cited an email Kim sent 20 days before the incident, as research center head, in which he wrote that “batteries showing minor heat would return to normal temperature after two or three days.” This, the defense claimed, led staff to follow that practice.

In response, Choi began her own fight — consulting battery experts, traveling between her home in Cheongju, the courtroom in Suwon, Aricell’s parent company S-Connect in Gwangju and the National Assembly.

“Unlike temporary dispatch workers, my husband was an executive, and I feared Aricell would try to shift the blame onto him. And that’s exactly what they did, cherry-picking a single line from his email,” she said, noting that the email also recommended halting production for six months to resolve the overheating issue.

Because of what she called Aricell’s two-faced behavior, Choi refused to settle. The court noted that the families of 18 victims reached settlements with the company, while two others partially settled.

“If Aricell had apologized and explained the cause on the day of the tragedy, I would have been the first to settle,” she said. “When I heard Park Joong-eon was having dark thoughts in detention, I thought maybe it was time to end this. But then Aricell told me they would only apologize if I signed the settlement first.”

Families of victims who died in a fire that broke out at an Aricell battery plant and civic organization members speak to reporters after a court ruling at the Suwon District Court on Sept. 23 in Gyeonggi. [YONHAP]

In the previous hearing on Aug. 23, prosecutors sought 20 years in prison for Park Soon-kwan, who was indicted under the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, and 15 years for Park Joong-eon, indicted under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, accusing them of shifting blame to avoid responsibility.

Court rejects defense, finds Aricell leadership responsible

Park Soon-kwan denied most of the charges, claiming he had no role in Aricell’s management. But the Suwon District Court sentenced him to 15 years in prison. His son, Park Joong-eon, was sentenced to 15 years in prison and fined 1 million won ($720). These are the heaviest sentences handed down since the law took effect in 2022.

Other executives and partners also received prison terms: An Aricell managing director and CEO of contractor Hanshin Dia were each sentenced to two years in prison; Aricell’s safety manager was given two years in prison; and the head of the production division was sentenced to one year. Aricell was fined 800 million won, while Hanshin Dia and Maycell were fined 30 million won each, and Kangsan Construction was fined 10 million won. Five defendants, including Park Soon-kwan, who had been released on bail, were taken into custody immediately after sentencing. Further, an Aricell employee identified only as Lee was acquitted of charges of occupational negligence resulting in death.

The court ruled that “Park Soon-kwan exercised managerial authority from Aricell’s founding through the time of the fire, receiving weekly reports and issuing instructions on major decisions. He was not a nominal CEO but the person with ultimate responsibility.”

A fire breaks out at an Aricell battery plant in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi, on June 24, 2024. [YONHAP]

Families of victims who died in a fire that broke out at an Aricell battery plant and civic organization members gather at the site to commemorate the first anniversary of the fatal accident on June 24, 2025, in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi. [YONHAP]

It also found that Park Joong-eon and others failed to provide mandatory safety training to dispatched workers and neglected to maintain proper emergency exits in facilities handling hazardous materials. As a result, 23 workers were killed in the battery explosion and fire.

“This was not an unforeseeable accident but a disaster waiting to happen,” the court said.

“Too often, companies minimize costs for worker safety to maximize profits, and when accidents occur, they use their financial power to reach settlements with bereaved families, who have little choice but to accept in order to survive, allowing business leaders to receive leniency," continued the ruling. "Unless this vicious cycle is broken, Korea’s industrial accident rate will not decline.”

After the trial, Choi addressed reporters on behalf of the victims’ families.

“The court said this case must serve as a precedent for our society,” she said. “Our fight is not over. Please continue to pay attention to the trials to come.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY CHOI MO-RAN [[email protected]]