Head of South Korean battery manufacturer arrested after deadly fire

The CEO of Aricell, a South Korean lithium battery maker, was arrested in connection with a massive factory fire in June that killed 23 people and injured nine others.

A court confirmed the arrest warrant against Park Soon-kwan on Wednesday.

Investigators believe Aricell's management is suspected of violating occupational safety. The fire was one of the worst factory disasters in South Korea in recent years.

Aricells' parent company, S-Connect, did not immediately respond to a BBC request for comment.

After the fire, Mr Park apologized: “We are deeply saddened by the loss of life and would like to express our deepest condolences and apologies to the grieving families.”

“We assume great responsibility and will assist the deceased and their families in every possible way,” he added.

His arrest came after police investigations revealed that the factory had rushed to meet production deadlines.

According to investigators, there were a number of safety problems at the plant. For example, quality defects in the batteries were not corrected and untrained staff were used to handle hazardous materials.

Aricell was also accused of cheating on quality controls related to military contracts.

The On June 24, a fire broke out after several battery cells exploded.

At the time of the fire, there were an estimated 35,000 battery cells on the second floor of the Aricell plant, where the batteries were being tested and packaged.

Because a lithium fire can react violently with water, firefighters had to use dry sand to extinguish the fire, which took several hours to get under control.

The victims were mostly guest workers from countries such as China and Laos.

South Korea is a leading producer of lithium batteries, which are used in many products from electric cars to laptops.