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The chief executive of Aricell, a South Korean lithium battery company, has been arrested over a massive factory fire in June that killed 23 people and injured nine others. <\/p>\n
A court approved the warrant for Park Soon-kwan’s arrest on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Investigators have said Aricell’s management is suspected of workplace safety violations. The fire was one of South Korea’s worst factory disasters in recent years.<\/p>\n
Aricells’ parent company, S-Connect, did not immediately respond to a BBC request for comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
After the fire Mr Park issued an apology: “We are deeply saddened by the loss of life and would like to express our deepest condolences and apologies to the bereaved families.”<\/p>\n
“We take great responsibility and will sincerely provide support to the deceased and their families in every way possible,” he added.<\/p>\n
His arrest comes after a police investigation found that the factory had been rushing to meet production deadlines.<\/p>\n
Investigators said there were a number of safety issues at the plant, including a failure to address quality defects in batteries and hiring unskilled staff to handle dangerous materials.<\/p>\n
It was also alleged that Aricell had been cheating in quality inspections related to contracts with the military.<\/p>\n
The blaze broke out on 24 June after several battery cells exploded.<\/p>\n
At the time of the fire, the Aricell factory housed an estimated 35,000 battery cells on its second floor, where batteries were inspected and packaged.<\/p>\n
As a lithium fire can react intensely with water, firefighters had to use dry sand to extinguish the blaze, which took several hours to get under control.<\/p>\n
The victims were mostly foreign workers, from country’s including China and Laos.<\/p>\n
South Korea is a leading producer of lithium batteries, which are used in many items from electric cars to laptops.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n