[Editor's Pick] A 'Disaster' Still Stuck in the Past: Families Outraged as Sentence Reduced from 15 to 4 Years

Bent and twisted steel bars, along with the debris of the collapsed building, remain exactly as they were two years ago.

At the second anniversary memorial service for the Aricel factory fire, which claimed 23 lives, sobs erupted throughout the venue as bereaved family members spoke.

[Interview] Lee Soon-hee / Mother of the late Eom Jeong-jeong: "When I pass by someone who looks like her, I turn around, thinking she called out 'Mom.' Sometimes, I feel like she might open the door and say, 'Mom, I'm home, give me something to eat'..."

The families prepared the favorite foods of the victims and called out the names of their loved ones, pouring their longing into the chrysanthemum flowers.

The emotional burden of not having been able to send their family members off properly remains their greatest pain.

Due to severe damage to the remains, only one of the 23 victims was able to have a funeral with their body in a complete state.

[Interview] Yeo Guk-hwa / Cousin of the late Lee Hye-ok: "It has been two years, and we still haven't found (the remains). We want to find them as soon as possible and send them off properly with our own hands."

The bereaved families recently strongly requested a building safety assessment and the clearing of damaged steel structures to recover the remaining remains, leading Gyeonggi Province and Hwaseong City to begin a review of the matter.

[Interview] Kwon Mi-jeong / Executive Committee Member, Aricel Serious Disaster Response Committee: "We waited a long time because they said it wasn't safe, and two years have already passed. Seeing the process of recovering remains for the Jeju aircraft disaster victims made us speak out about the things we had buried in our hearts..."

Furthermore, the families criticized the fact that Park Soon-kwan, CEO of Aricel, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison in the first trial, had his sentence significantly reduced to four years in the appellate trial two months ago, arguing that the Supreme Court must rectify this.

With the recent revelation that CEO Park has even filed a motion for a constitutional review of the 'Serious Accidents Punishment Act,' the families raised their voices, claiming that he shows no remorse whatsoever.

"Victims Still at the Site"... The Unending Aricel Disaster (June 24, 2026, 8 News)

Reported by Yoo Soo-hwan | Written by Bae Jun-hwi | Video by Yoon Hyung | Video Editing by Ahn Yeo-jin | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.