Foreign Workers Unaware of Internal Structure
Investigation into Violation of Serious Accident Punishment Act
Joint On-Site Inspection Scheduled for Morning of 25th
The fire that occurred at Arisel, a primary battery manufacturer in Hwaseong City, Gyeonggi Province, was preliminarily investigated to have filled the entire factory within just 15 seconds after a small amount of smoke rose from the battery, resulting in significant casualties.
A fire has broken out at a lithium battery manufacturing factory in Seosin-myeon, Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi Province, with smoke and flames rising. [Image source=Yonhap News]
On the 24th at around 8 p.m., Cho Sun-ho, head of the Gyeonggi Provincial Fire and Disaster Headquarters, visited the site with Gyeonggi Governor Kim Dong-yeon and explained the fire situation captured on CCTV installed inside the factory. He stated, "At first, a small white smoke started rising from the battery section, and the smoke spread rapidly, covering the entire workspace in about 15 seconds. The workers seemed a bit startled at first and tried to extinguish the fire using fire extinguishers, but since there was lithium nearby, the extinguishing effect was not sufficient."
According to the fire authorities, most of the deceased were found gathered in the workshop connected to the ignition point on the second floor of Building 3. Head Cho said, "If they had evacuated toward the entrance on the second floor, the casualties might have been significantly reduced, but they panicked and evacuated inward where it was blocked." He added, "Among the foreign workers who worked here, many were dispatched from service companies as needed and were not well familiar with the factory's internal structure, which is also considered a factor that increased the damage."
Search efforts are ongoing to find one additional missing person besides the confirmed deceased. Head Cho said, "Around 5 p.m., the location of the missing person's mobile phone was detected near the fire site, and a detailed search is underway. The search will continue late into the night using available lighting, and considering the safety of the personnel, it may resume tomorrow morning."
Governor Kim said, "There are 5,934 hazardous chemical business sites and 86 lithium-related business sites in the jurisdiction. We plan to conduct a thorough inspection of safety issues at these sites, including advanced industries such as energy and semiconductors." Gyeonggi Province has established an integrated support center at Hwaseong City Hall to assist victims and will assign provincial government staff to funeral homes where the deceased are laid to rest and medical institutions where the injured are hospitalized to provide legal and insurance consultations. Additionally, support measures for the injured's livelihood stabilization will be prepared, and damage recovery at the site will be carried out meticulously. Considering that 20 of the 22 victims who died in this fire were foreigners, dedicated staff will be assigned to the bereaved families to provide one-stop services including airfare, accommodation expenses, and interpretation.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor has formed an Industrial Accident Recovery Headquarters and will investigate violations of the Industrial Safety and Health Act and the Serious Accident Punishment Act. Immediately after the accident, the ministry established the Central Industrial Accident Recovery Headquarters (CIRH), led by the minister, within the Occupational Safety and Health Headquarters. CIRH cooperates with related agencies such as the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the Fire Agency, and the Ministry of Environment to comprehensively support worker searches, site recovery, and victim assistance.
The Gyeonggi Employment and Labor Office has set up a Regional Industrial Accident Recovery Headquarters (RIRH). Both CIRH and RIRH dispatched supervisors to the site on the day and assessed the specific accident status, scale, and causes. To this end, the Occupational Safety and Health Headquarters and the Gyeonggi Office formed a dedicated investigation team. The team is responsible for thoroughly investigating the cause of the accident and investigating violations of the Industrial Safety and Health Act and the Serious Accident Punishment Act. The number of regular workers at the Arisel factory was reported to be around 50. Minister Lee Jung-sik of the Ministry of Employment and Labor stated regarding this fire, "Cooperate with related agencies to promptly handle the accident and investigate the cause of the disaster as quickly and strictly as possible."
Earlier, a fire broke out at 10:31 a.m. on the same day at Arisel, a primary battery manufacturer located in Jeongok-ri, Seosin-myeon, Hwaseong City. The fire resulted in 22 deaths, 8 serious and moderate injuries, and 1 person missing. The Hwaseong Arisel Factory Fire Investigation Headquarters of the Southern Gyeonggi Police Agency plans to conduct a joint on-site inspection with fire authorities, the National Forensic Service, the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology, the Ministry of Employment and Labor, and the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency starting at 10:30 a.m. on the 25th.
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