Residents "Witnessed Scene of Third Floor Being Demolished Before Fifth Floor"
Construction Company "Supervisor Under 'Non-Resident Supervision Contract' Was Not Present at Site"
[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Yoon Jamin] The demolition plan for the 5-story building in the Hakdong redevelopment area of Dong-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, which collapsed during demolition causing 17 casualties, has been disclosed.
According to Dong-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, on the 10th, the demolition sequence of the building begins with work on the side walls of the structure.
Using a long boom, the demolition is carried out by crushing as many units as possible within reach. Debris is laid at a height reachable by the 5th-floor crusher, allowing equipment to climb on top.
After the equipment moves over the debris, dismantling proceeds from the 5th floor in the order of exterior walls, partition walls, and slabs.
When this work reaches the 3rd floor, the equipment is lowered to the ground, and demolition work on the 1st and 2nd floors is carried out. The entire demolition method is vibration-free crushing.
However, some residents reported witnessing scenes of the 3rd floor being demolished before the 4th and 5th floors were taken down.
A Dong-gu official also stated, “According to the submitted plan, demolition is supposed to start from the upper floors, but considering the fallen state and angle of the building, it seems the lower floors were worked on first.”
Another issue here is the absence of a supervisor.
On the morning of the same day, Kwon Soon-ho, CEO of HDC Hyundai Development Company (the construction company), said at a press conference, “The supervision company was contracted as ‘non-resident supervision,’ and there was no supervisor on site at the time.”
Supervision is divided into non-resident and resident supervision. Non-resident supervisors only conduct supervision on site during major construction processes and are not usually present at the site.
However, since demolition requires verifying whether the work is proceeding according to the plan, some argue that a supervisor should have been present at the site at that time.
Accordingly, Dong-gu plans to file a complaint with judicial authorities against the construction company and the supervisor, considering the seriousness of the matter.
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