[News Today] One year since battery plant fire

[LEAD]
One year ago yesterday, a deadly fire tore through the Aricell battery factory. Twenty-three lives were lost and nine were injured. Investigations pointed the cause to intense production pressure and a lack of proper safety training. Bereaved families are still, pleading for those reponsible to be punished.

[REPORT]
The fire at the Aricell battery factory, which killed 23 people, is recorded as the worst chemical plant accident in Korea.

Investigators found that the fire was caused when the employees were overworked to meet the delivery deadline.

Part-time workers assigned to the job without receiving safety training had no authority to even unlock the emergency exits.

Yeo Guk-hwa/ Bereaved family member
Only full-time workers had fingerprint access and ID cards for emergency exits. That discrimination made us even more outraged.

The victims' families spent the last year in rage and sorrow.

A mother who was looking forward to moving into a new home with her daughter still cannot believe she's gone.

Lee Sun-hee/ Bereaved family member
We agreed to finish the payment and move in on Aug. 16, but she didn't even get to see the new place.

After the accident, the company apologized, but once the trial began, they quickly shifted to avoiding responsibility.

Aricell CEO Park Soon-kwan denied violating the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, claiming he wasn’t the actual manager responsible for safety.

Sohn Ik-chan/ Aricell Fire Legal Team
Park received weekly reports and communicated frequently via emails and KakaoTalk messages.

The lower court trial is still ongoing but Park is out on bail.

Yeo Guk-hwa/ Bereaved family member
We still don't know the truth. The truth must be found and those responsible should be punished.

Bereaved families are still waiting for those responsible to be punished.

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