The workers never stood a chance.

Security video from a lithium battery factory south of Seoul in the city of Hwaseong on Monday morning shows a puff of smoke as one worker scrambles to move battery cases and another sprays a fire extinguisher in vain.

The cases begin to explode in a flash of yellow before the camera goes dark.

As explosions shook the street, firefighters on the scene could only watch what became the deadliest chemical factory fire in South Korean history, with 23 people killed.

That toll was also notable because 18 of the victims were foreigners — 17 from China and one from Laos — casting a spotlight on the country's increasing reliance on migrant workers and the harsh workplace conditions they sometimes face.

"It has exposed bare the realities of South Korea's pursuit of cheap labor," said Choi Jung-kyu, a labor activist and attorney who is assisting the families of the dead.

Years of low birthrates have caused severe labor shortages in manufacturing, increasingly eschewed by South Koreans for its low pay and harsh working conditions. Workers from China and Southeast Asia are filling their place.

There are currently about 426,000 temporary migrant workers in South Korea, with around 165,000 of them ethnic Koreans from China or Central Asia, who are eligible for special visas to live and work in the country. The country is on track to add at least 165,000 more this year.

Migrants usually find work in small to medium manufacturing companies, where labor advocates say occupational safety standards are lax compared with larger workplaces, making accidents common.

In South Korea, foreigners made up roughly 9% of the manufacturing workforce in 2021 but accounted for 18% of its 184 accidental deaths, The Times reported last year.

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