Police have referred executives and other suspects to prosecutors over the March fire at a Daejeon auto-parts factory that killed 14 people and injured 60, moving the case from disaster investigation toward possible criminal accountability.
Daejeon Metropolitan Police said the company’s chief executive and other people had been booked on allegations including occupational negligence resulting in death or injury, violations of fire-safety law and evidence-related offenses, according to Maeil Shinmun and Kyunghyang Shinmun. The reports differ slightly on the total number of people referred, but both describe company executives among those sent to prosecutors.
Repeated hazards are part of the police case
The investigation focused on conditions at the Safe Industrial factory in Daedeok District. Kyunghyang reported that the site had experienced dozens of smaller fires over the previous five years and that investigators found a company manual instructing workers to disable fire alarms in some circumstances. The report also cited inadequate management of combustible sludge and illegal building additions as factors that may have increased the danger.
The police case therefore reaches beyond the immediate ignition source. Prosecutors will examine whether managers knew about recurring hazards and failed to correct systems intended to prevent a fire from spreading or to help workers escape. Police allegations are not a final finding of guilt, and the referred suspects remain subject to prosecutorial review and any later court proceedings.
The scale of the casualties makes the management record central to the next stage. Fourteen workers died and 60 were injured in the March 20 blaze, according to the reports. Prosecutors will now decide whether to indict the referred suspects and which alleged safety failures can be tied legally to the deaths and injuries.