Supreme Court Finalizes 4-Year Prison Sentence for Aricell CEO Over Deadly Fire; Bereaved Families Protest

[Anchor]

The Supreme Court has finalized a four-year prison sentence for Park Soon-kwan, CEO of Aricell, in connection with the factory fire in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, which claimed the lives of 23 workers. The sentence was drastically reduced from 15 years in the first trial to four years in the appellate trial, and has now been finalized by the Supreme Court. Bereaved families have strongly protested the ruling.

Reporter Jeon Yeonnam has the details.

[Reporter]

Gray smoke billows into the sky amid a series of explosions.

This was the scene during the fire at the Aricell factory in June the year before last, which killed 23 workers and injured nine others.

At the time, Aricell CEO Park Soon-kwan and General Manager Park Jung-eon, his son, were indicted for violating the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, including failing to inspect risk factors and failing to prepare disaster preparedness manuals. They were each sentenced to 15 years in prison in the first trial.

However, the appellate court overturned the lower court's ruling, sentencing CEO Park to four years in prison and the general manager to seven years.

The appellate court based its decision on the grounds that there was no legal obligation to install and maintain emergency exits, and that the disaster occurred while the company was receiving consulting to comply with the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, meaning it could not be said they ignored safety issues.

The Supreme Court upheld the appellate court's decision, finding no fault in its reasoning and finalizing the prison terms.

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

[Lee Soon-hee / Bereaved Family Member: How can South Korea's law be like this? Twenty-three people died. They were trapped in that factory unable to even breathe properly, and this is so unfair.]

Since the implementation of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act in 2022 through June, only three out of 85 business owners and chief executives indicted have been sentenced to actual prison time.

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

[Shin Ha-na / Attorney: The law does not function simply by existing; appropriate judgments must be delivered for punishment to have a deterrent effect. This ruling is practically tantamount to denying that effect.]

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

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