Aricell CEO’s sentence cut to 4 years on appeal in fire that killed 23

A South Korean appeals court sharply reduced the prison sentence for Park Soon-kwan, CEO of Aricell, who was indicted under the Serious Accidents Punishment Act after a factory fire that killed 23 workers. 

The Suwon High Court’s Criminal Division 1 on Tuesday overturned a lower court ruling that had sentenced Park to 15 years in prison and instead sentenced him to four years. Park was charged with violating the Serious Accidents Punishment Act (industrial manslaughter), the Dispatch Workers Act and the Occupational Safety and Health Act. 

The court said the outcome of the fire was “extremely grave,” noting that 23 people died and nine were injured. But it said Park appeared to have made a management decision in delegating much of Aricell’s work to his son, and that there was insufficient basis to conclude he did so to evade responsibility under the serious-accidents law or the dispatch law.

While the appeals court agreed Park qualified as a responsible manager under the Serious Accidents Punishment Act and upheld multiple safety-duty violations found at trial, it reached a different conclusion on prosecutors’ primary allegation regarding emergency exits. 

It said Article 17 of the safety and health rules requires emergency exits in workplaces handling hazardous materials and in the buildings themselves, but does not require exits on every floor. The court said there was no duty to install an emergency exit on the second floor of Building 3 at the factory.

The appeals court also reduced the sentence for Park’s son, Park Jung-eon, Aricell’s general headquarters chief. It overturned the lower court’s sentence of 15 years in prison and a 1 million won fine, and sentenced him to seven years in prison and a 1 million won fine. He was indicted on charges including violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and professional negligence resulting in death and injury. 

After the ruling, bereaved families protested, saying, “What kind of law is this?” and “If the court had considered the families even a little, it could not have issued a four-year sentence.” A lawyer for the victims said a four-year term in a case of this scale raised doubts about whether the serious-accidents law could function going forward, calling the decision “a ruling that deeply hurt the families.”

Park was indicted over the June 24, 2024, fire at Aricell’s plant in Seosin-myeon, Hwaseong, accused of failing to inspect harmful and dangerous factors and of not preparing a manual for major accidents, among other alleged breaches of safety and health obligations. His son was accused of violating duties of care in battery storage and management and in safety management to prepare for fires, leading to a large loss of life. 

In September last year, the trial court sentenced Park to 15 years in prison, the heaviest sentence imposed in a case prosecuted since the Serious Accidents Punishment Act took effect in 2022. His son was also sentenced to 15 years in prison and fined 1 million won.