# The CEO of a South Korean lithium battery maker was sentenced to 15 years in prison over a factory fire that killed nearly two dozen workers last year. The Suwon District Court handed down the lengthy term to Aricell CEO Park Soon-kwan, saying the company’s practices had prioritised profit over worker safety. The June 2024 fire at the lithium battery plant killed 23 people, most of whom were Chinese nationals, in one of South Korea’s worst industrial disasters in years.
CEO sentenced to 15 years in jail after workers in South Korea die in factory fire