The chief executive of Aricell, a South Korean lithium battery company, has been arrested over a massive factory fire in June that killed 23 people and injured nine others.

A court approved the warrant for Park Soon-kwan's arrest on Wednesday.

Investigators have said Aricell's management is suspected of workplace safety violations. The fire was one of South Korea's worst factory disasters in recent years.

Aricells' parent company, S-Connect, did not immediately respond to a BBC request for comment.

After the fire Mr Park issued an apology: "We are deeply saddened by the loss of life and would like to express our deepest condolences and apologies to the bereaved families…”

His arrest comes after a police investigation found that the factory had been rushing to meet production deadlines.

Investigators said there were a number of safety issues at the plant, including a failure to address quality defects in batteries and hiring unskilled staff to handle dangerous materials.

It was also alleged that Aricell had been cheating in quality inspections related to contracts with the military…