4 Years in Prison for 23 Deaths: Bereaved Families Protest Arisell Disaster Verdict

[Anchor]

Regarding the Arisell battery manufacturing plant disaster that claimed the lives of 23 workers, the Supreme Court has finalized a four-year prison sentence for the head of Arisell. The 15-year prison sentence from the first trial was significantly reduced to four years in the second trial, which was finalized today (October 20). Bereaved families and labor circles have strongly protested.

Reporter Jeon Yeonnam has the details.

[Reporter]

Whitish smoke billows into the sky, accompanied by a continuous series of explosions.

This was the scene during the Arisell factory fire in June of the year before last, which left 23 workers dead and nine injured.

At the time, Arisell CEO Park Soon-kwan and general manager Park Jung-un, his son, were indicted on charges including violations of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act for failing to inspect risk factors and failing to establish disaster preparedness manuals, resulting in sentences of 15 years in prison each in the first trial.

However, the appellate court overturned the first-trial ruling, sentencing CEO Park to four years in prison and general manager Park to seven years.

The reasoning was that there was no obligation to install and maintain emergency exits, and because the disaster occurred while they were receiving consulting to comply with the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, it could not be said that they had ignored safety issues.

The Supreme Court ruled today that there were no problems with the appellate court's judgment, finalizing the prison terms from the second trial.

Bereaved families strongly protested, stating they would even consider filing a constitutional complaint.

[Lee Soon-hee / Bereaved Family Member: How can South Korean law be like this? Twenty-three people died. They couldn't even breathe properly trapped inside that factory, and it is just too unfair.]

Out of 85 business executives indicted from the implementation of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act in 2022 through June of last year, only three have been sentenced to actual prison terms.

The four-year prison term handed down to CEO Park today is known to be the highest final sentence ever given to a corporate executive under the law.

[Shin Ha-na / Attorney: Laws do not function just by existing; appropriate judgments must be handed down for them to have a deterrent effect as punishment. Because this ruling is practically equivalent to denying that, it is unacceptable.]

The two major umbrella labor unions also condemned the Supreme Court ruling, calling it a flawed judgment that neutralizes the Serious Accidents Punishment Act and undermines judicial justice.

(Camera: Yang Hyun-chul | Video Editing: Kim Yoon-sung)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.