Deadly Fire at South Korean Lithium Battery Factory Highlights Safety Lapses

A fire at South Korean battery maker Aricell in June killed 23 people as the company missed safety warnings while rushing production after a quality inspection failure. Authorities cite safety violations, untrained workers, and inadequate emergency protocols as reasons behind the high casualties.

A deadly fire at a South Korean lithium battery maker in June occurred as the company hurried to produce batteries to meet a deadline without addressing quality failures, police confirmed Friday. The blaze resulted in 23 deaths and nine injuries.

The battery maker, Aricell, mostly owned by S-Connect, faced severe scrutiny after failing a quality inspection for military-bound batteries in April. To meet production deadlines, the company hired unskilled workers, leading to increased product defects, police official Kim Jong-min said. Despite recognizing overheating issues, the firm took no safety measures.

Seventeen of the victims were Chinese, one Laotian, and the rest South Koreans. Aricell CEO Park Soon-kwan had offered condolences and pledged to prevent future incidents. The company, established in 2020, supplies batteries for military communication and cryptography devices.

(With inputs from agencies.)