By Hyunsu Yim and Ju-min Park
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean authorities on Wednesday ordered a halt to the operations of a lithium battery maker after a fire killed 23 people, while they investigate three company officials for suspected safety violations.
Monday’s fire at privately held battery manufacturer Aricell was one of the deadliest industrial accidents in recent years. Dozens of South Korean workers lose their lives on the job every year, despite stricter laws and measures to improve safety.
The company in the industrial hub of Hwaseong, southwest of the capital Seoul, was told to close its only factory for inspection, Min Gil-soo, a labor ministry official, told a briefing.
Police raided the company’s offices on Wednesday, Yonhap news agency reported. Authorities have not identified the company officials under investigation. Safety code violations can lead to prison sentences for fatal accidents.
Aricell Chief Executive Park Soon-kwan apologized for the fire on Tuesday, but said the company had followed all safety regulations and training requirements.
Flames quickly engulfed the factory, where 35,000 lithium batteries were stored, and the spread of toxic smoke likely rendered workers unconscious within seconds, fire officials said.
Only three of the dead, all South Korean men, have been identified. The rest, including 17 Chinese, have yet to be identified as their bodies suffered serious damage from the fire.
Investigators are trying to determine the cause of the fire, while questions remain over Aricell’s hiring of foreign workers on a temporary basis and whether they received adequate safety training.
The office of a lawmaker, Kim Sung-hoi, provided a copy of a March inspection report from the Hwaseong Fire Department, which showed it had noted serious hazards including possible “rapid combustion” in the building where the fire broke out.
Confirming the inspection report, a fire brigade official said fire officials had also visited the company on June 5 to discuss fire prevention.
Founded in 2020, Aricell has 48 full-time employees and makes primary lithium batteries for sensors and radio communications equipment.
It also supplies batteries to the military for use in some communications and crypto devices, a spokesperson for South Korea’s defense procurement agency said.
The agency’s annual safety inspections cover suppliers in some categories, such as firearms and chemicals, but exclude battery makers such as Aricell, the spokesperson added.
Its parent company, S-Connect, supplies lithium-ion battery components to Samsung (KS:) SDI, one of the largest secondary battery manufacturers in the country.
