Police have booked 12 people in their investigation into allegations of irregularities in providing supplies to the military regarding a lithium battery manufacturer at the center of a deadly Hwaseong plant fire in June that led to 31 casualties.

At a briefing with reporters on Monday, the head of the fire investigation at the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency said the 12 people that have been booked on charges of obstruction of business include Park Joong-eon, head of factory management at the firm Aricell.

The group is suspected of fabricating battery testing data since 2021 in a bid to pass inspection by the Defense Agency for Technology and Quality, allowing them to supply batteries worth four-point-seven billion won, or around three-point-five million U.S. dollars. According to the police, Park has admitted to instructing others to engage in this systematic criminal activity over an extended period.

Although Aricell failed the state agency's test despite the data manipulation in April, the police suspect that the company's excessive production schedule following the failure was a major contributing factor for the fire.
  
Meanwhile, the police plan to refer the case of Aricell chief Park Soon-kwan to the prosecution on charges of causing death and injury through occupational and gross negligence before his pretrial detention warrant expires on Friday.