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

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

At the time, Arisell CEO Park Soon-kwan and Executive General Manager Park Joong-eun, his son, were indicted on charges including violations of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act for 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 first-instance ruling, sentencing CEO Park to four years in prison and the general manager to seven years.

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

[Jeon Yeon-nam / Reporter: The Supreme Court upheld the appellate court's judgment today, finalizing the prison sentences as ruled in the second trial. The bereaved families strongly protested, stating they are even considering filing a constitutional complaint.]

[Lee Soon-hee / Bereaved family member: How can South Korean law be nothing more than this? Twenty-three people died. They couldn't even breathe properly trapped inside that factory, and it is just so unfair.]

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

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

[Shin Ha-na / Lawyer: The law does not function merely by existing; it must deliver appropriate judgments to produce a deterrent effect as a punishment. Because this ruling is practically akin to nullifying that...]

The nation's 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.

23 Dead, Yet a Four-Year Prison Term… Bereaved Families Protest Arisell Disaster Ruling (8 News, October 20, 2026)

(Reported by Jeon Yeon-nam | Produced by Bae Joon-hwi | Filmed by Yang Hyun-chul | Video Edited by Kim Yoon-sung | Produced by SBS Digital News)