'Gwangju Building Collapse Disaster' Caused by Complex Factors Including Illegal Subcontracting and Reckless Demolition

Gwangju Police Announce Interim Investigation Results... Confirm Illegal Activities in Overall Demolition, 23 People Booked, 6 Arrested

Excavator Special Equipment Not Used to Lower Unit Price... 'D'-Shaped Building Could Not Withstand Pushing Forc

Cho Yong-il, Chief of the Criminal Division at the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency, is announcing the interim investigation results on the morning of the 28th regarding the building collapse disaster in Hakdong, Dong-gu, Gwangju, which caused 17 casualties.

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] The police have concluded that the cause of the ‘Gwangju Hakdong Building Collapse Disaster,’ which resulted in 17 casualties, was a complex combination of selecting an unreasonable demolition method, violations of duty of care by supervisors, main contractors, and subcontractor safety managers.

The Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency Investigation Headquarters announced the interim investigation results on the morning of the 28th, confirming illegal activities in the selection process of the demolition company, and reported that 23 people have been booked and 6 detained.

During the demolition process, the building took on a ‘ㄷ’-shaped form, making it difficult to withstand the load of the backfill, and the collapse occurred as an excavator entered the building interior. Excessive water spraying compared to usual also appears to have contributed to the collapse.

It was not possible to confirm whether the first floor floor sank first or the piled backfill collapsed first.

Looking at the timeline, on May 29, backfill began to be piled outside the building, and on the 31st, additional backfill was carried out on top of an 11m backfill using two excavators. On June 1, untreated waste was piled on top of the backfill, and on the 2nd, backfill was carried out up to the height of the 4th floor.

An excavator was supposed to be placed on the 4th-floor height backfill to demolish sequentially from the 5th floor, but instead, demolition proceeded by removing the floor between the 4th and 5th floors and the excavator penetrated into the building interior.

The police explained that a special device called a ‘long boom arm’ should have been attached to the excavator, but to reduce costs, a regular ‘arm’ was used, which could not reach the inner part of the building, causing the excavator arm to enter inside.

Additionally, the building’s ‘ㄷ’ shape made it vulnerable to lateral loads, which are forces acting sideways, contributing to the collapse.

Also, excessive water spraying to reduce dust compared to usual seems to have destabilized the backfill.

The key point is that the backfill pushed the building sideways, and the ‘ㄷ’-shaped building exceeded the critical point it could withstand this weight. As a result, the building toppled toward the road.

It was also confirmed that the fact of re-subcontracting was known in advance.

Regarding general demolition, asbestos demolition, and obstacle demolition contracts, it was found that prior consultations among companies took place to designate and select contractors, and then share the stakes jointly.

While sometimes contracts are publicly received like a consortium, there was evidence that contracts were received individually and the stake ratios were divided to carry out the construction.

In relation to general demolition, the initial contract amount of about 5 billion KRW was reduced to about 1.2 billion KRW through illegal re-subcontracting, and for asbestos demolition, the initial contract of 2.2 billion KRW by the association was reduced to about 400 million KRW when subcontracted, decreasing the actual construction cost.

The supervisor was found to have never conducted on-site supervision, and site managers of the main contractor and subcontractors were aware that the construction company ignored the demolition plan and proceeded with reckless demolition but took no action.

The construction company representative who received illegal re-subcontracting was booked on charges of professional negligence causing death and injury for proceeding with reckless demolition against the demolition plan, and among the nine booked, five were detained.

Additionally, four people, including a Dong-gu Office employee who selected the supervisor after receiving illicit requests, a subcontractor representative who violated the prohibition on re-subcontracting, and two employees of the main contractor, are scheduled to be sent to prosecution without detention.

Four association officials, two brokers, and eight construction contract company officials, totaling 14 people, were also found to be involved in illegal activities such as exchanging large sums of money between construction companies and brokers and bid rigging.

Among them, a broker confirmed to have received several hundred million KRW as a bribe for arranging company selection was detained on charges of violating the Attorney-at-Law Act.

The police stated, “We will focus our investigative efforts to leave no suspicion regarding various charges related to redevelopment association corruption and this accident,” and added, “We plan to continue the investigation to identify those involved in bid rigging among contracting companies, illegal re-subcontracting, and those who intervened in redevelopment association interests.”