Jung Mong-kyu, Chairman of HDC Group, Pays Tribute and Observes a Moment of Silence at Gwangju Collapse Site

Chung Mong-gyu (second from left), Chairman of HDC Group, visited the site of the collapsed building demolition accident in Hakdong, Gwangju, on the morning of the 11th, offering flowers and observing a moment of silence.

Jung Mong-gyu, Chairman of HDC (Hyundai Development Company) Group, visited the site of the building collapse accident at Hakdong 4 District, Dong-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City on the 11th to pay tribute to the victims by laying flowers.

On the morning of the same day, Chairman Jung visited the accident site, laid flowers, observed a moment of silence, and then inspected the area where the building debris had piled up. Three HDC officials, including Kwon Soon-ho, CEO of HDC Hyundai Development Company, accompanied Chairman Jung.

After laying flowers and observing silence, Chairman Jung left the site without making any further comments to reporters.

Hyundai Development Company is the construction company responsible for this redevelopment project, which resulted in 17 casualties.

Earlier, on the 10th, Chairman Jung said at a press conference held in the briefing room of Gwangju City Hall, "I sincerely apologize for this accident and deeply feel the heavy responsibility."

The police, who are investigating the accident, explained to the media on the same day that they are currently investigating the illegal subcontracting aspects of the demolition work. However, Chairman Jung denied the allegations of subcontracting the demolition work during the press conference.

At around 4:22 p.m. on the 9th, a five-story commercial building under demolition completely collapsed, crushing a city bus stopped at the bus stop in front of the building under the debris. Among the 17 people trapped inside the sunken bus, 9 died and 8 were seriously injured.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 11th that it has formed the Central Building Accident Investigation Committee to identify the cause of the collapse accident and to prepare measures to prevent similar accidents from recurring.

Jung Mong-gyu, Chairman of HDC Group (second from left), and Kwon Soon-ho, CEO of Hyundai Development Company, are inspecting the site of the collapsed building demolition accident in Hakdong, Gwangju, on the morning of the 11th.