Police investigating the fire at auto parts maker Anjeon Industrial in Daejeon that left 74 people dead or injured have referred 13 people, including the company's chief executive, to prosecutors over the casualties. Investigators found that safety lapses — sludge left to accumulate inside the plant and a fire alarm receiver switched off — allowed the blaze to spread rapidly, while an illegal extension increased the death toll.
The Daejeon Metropolitan Police Agency said on the 17th that it had booked 14 people, including Anjeon Industrial Chief Executive Son Ju-hwan, on charges of professional negligence resulting in death and injury, violations of the fire facilities law, and fabrication of evidence, and had decided to refer 13 of them to prosecutors.
They are accused of neglecting fire and safety management, leading to mass casualties in the March 20 fire at the Anjeon Industrial auto parts plant in Munpyeong-dong, Daedeok-gu, Daejeon, which killed 14 people and injured 60 others to varying degrees.
An analysis by the National Forensic Service found the fire most likely began from high heat generated as plant equipment operated, or from friction or sparks between metal parts. Investigators concluded, however, that it was difficult to pinpoint the specific process or ignition source.
Based on statements from the first witnesses and the pattern and shape of the burning, police believe the fire started near dust collection equipment on the ceiling of a first-floor processing line.
Sludge that had built up over a long period on ducts, hoods and other equipment and structures inside the plant was identified as a primary reason the casualties were so severe.
Police said sludge, a combustible material, had accumulated inside the plant and that inspection and maintenance of local exhaust systems were inadequate, so once the fire started for reasons that remain unknown it spread rapidly. They added that fire compartmentation had been compromised when a rest area known as a mezzanine floor was illegally added, and that because the fire door was kept open at all times, flames and sparks reached the break room within two minutes.
Nine people were found dead in the illegally extended space.
An official at the construction firm that added the space without a permit was charged with violating the framework act on the construction industry.
Police also found that a plant official arbitrarily shut off the alarm when the fire broke out on the day of the disaster and the fire receiver was triggered.
Anjeon Industrial was found to have drawn up a manual as early as 2017 or 2018 instructing employees to cut off the alarm first, before checking the site of a fire, and to have trained staff accordingly. As a result, the alarm was quickly silenced on the day of the fire, preventing workers from evacuating quickly.
Once the investigation began, those who removed a hard drive from the fire site without authorization and fabricated safety-related documents in order to shield Son and the company from punishment were charged with fabrication of evidence.
They were found to have manipulated 15 documents, including risk assessment sheets, to make it appear that proper safety management had been in place before the fire.
The one person not referred to prosecutors is the head of a subcontractor that had dispatched workers to Anjeon Industrial. Although booked on suspicion of professional negligence resulting in death and injury, police decided not to refer the case, concluding that responsibility for the safety of illegally dispatched workers rested with Anjeon Industrial's chief executive.
The Daejeon office of the Ministry of Employment and Labor, however, plans to book the subcontractor's head separately on suspicion of illegal dispatch and refer the case to prosecutors.
"Through a rigorous investigation into a disaster directly tied to public safety and lives, we will ensure that those responsible bear commensurate legal responsibility," a police official said.
