'Arisel Fire' Parent Company Esconec Employee Found Dead on Detention Hearing Day

Police Investigate Location After Failure to Appear for Arrest Warrant Hearing
Body Found in House Located in Jang-an-myeon, Hwaseong-si

An executive from Esconec, the parent company of Arisel factory in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, where a fire claimed 23 lives, died on the day of his detention hearing while under investigation for 'military supply corruption.'

According to the Hwaseong Western Police Station on the 16th, around 11 a.m. that day, A, a former managerial employee of Esconec, the parent company of Arisel, was found dead at a detached house in Jangan-myeon, Hwaseong City. A was under police investigation for allegations that Arisel and Esconec manipulated the Ministry of National Defense’s quality inspections to supply defective batteries.

Police investigations revealed that Arisel had been manipulating quality inspections since it began military supply in 2021 and supplied products worth approximately 4.7 billion KRW until February this year. Esconec, Arisel’s parent company, was also found to have passed military quality inspections by falsifying test data when supplying batteries to the Ministry of National Defense in 2017?2018. The police have criminally charged and investigated 24 current and former executives and employees of Arisel and Esconec, and on the 10th, they applied for pre-trial detention warrants on charges of obstruction of business for three suspects, including A, who faced serious allegations.

The police planned to meet the three suspects at the Suwon District Court at 10:30 a.m. that day before attending the pre-trial detention hearing. However, when A did not appear at the court as scheduled and could not be contacted, the police searched for him and found him dead at his home. The police are investigating the circumstances of A’s death.

The court proceeded with the pre-trial detention hearing for the other two suspects who attended, excluding A, who was absent. A police official stated, "We have no additional information to provide other than that A was found dead."

Earlier, on June 24 around 10:30 a.m., a fire broke out at the Arisel factory, killing 23 workers and injuring 8. Related to this, Park Soon-kwan, CEO of Arisel, and Park Jung-eon, General Manager, are currently detained and indicted on charges of violating safety and health obligations, such as failing to conduct hazardous factor inspections and not having a manual for major disaster preparedness. Their first trial is scheduled for the 21st. The police are continuing their investigation into the allegations of quality inspection manipulation after concluding the investigation into the fire incident itself.

※ If you are experiencing difficult feelings such as depression or know family or acquaintances going through such hardships, you can receive 24-hour expert counseling by calling the suicide prevention hotline (☎109).