[Anchor]

The police, who have been investigating the Daejeon Anjeon Industry fire accident that caused 74 casualties, announced their final investigation results today, six months after the accident occurred. The police have decided to forward 13 individuals, including the chief executive officer, to the prosecution without detention.

Reporter Hong Seung-yeon has the details.

[Reporter]

The Daejeon Anjeon Industry disaster on March 20 resulted in 14 deaths and 60 injuries.

Six months after the accident, the police have concluded their investigation.

The police decided to forward 13 people, including CEO A, to the prosecution without detention on charges including professional negligence resulting in death and injury and violations of the Fire Facility Act.

Managers, including the CEO, are accused of leaving combustible materials such as sludge and grease unmanaged for a long period and arbitrarily disabling the alarm function of the fire receiver.

Circumstances of employees fabricating evidence after the accident were also confirmed, and the police believe that relevant documents were forged to help the CEO evade charges under the Serious Accidents Punishment Act.

Four employees, including the production management team leader, were found to have fabricated evidence, such as unauthorized removal of hard disks from the fire scene and ex post facto creation of 15 related documents including risk assessment tables.

It was confirmed that the rest facility, where many of the victims were found, was illegally expanded without a permit. The police determined that during the illegal expansion process, the fire compartment was unlawfully damaged, allowing flames to enter the rest area about two minutes after the fire broke out, thereby increasing the casualties.

However, the exact cause of how the fire started was not revealed even through the appraisal by the National Forensic Service.

[Ryu Geun-sil / Head of the Metropolitan Crime Investigation Unit, Daejeon Provincial Police Agency: It is possible that it ignited due to high temperature, friction between metals, or sparks, but the final conclusion is that it is impossible to specify the exact process and ignition cause.]

Separately from the police, the Daejeon Regional Employment and Labor Administration also decided to forward the CEO to the prosecution on charges of violating the Serious Accidents Punishment Act.

(Video by Kim Min-chul | Video Editing by Park Ji-in)