'Prevent Gwangju Accident' Ruling and Opposition Parties Agree to Promptly Enact Special Construction Safety Act

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] The ruling party and government have agreed to expedite the enactment of the Construction Safety Special Act to prevent the recurrence of the collapse accident at the 'Hwajeong I-Park' newly built apartment in Gwangju.

On the morning of the same day, the Democratic Party and the government held an emergency party-government meeting at the National Assembly to discuss the recovery of missing persons from the Gwangju collapse accident, investigation of the accident's cause, and measures to prevent recurrence. The Construction Safety Special Act imposes safety management responsibilities on all construction entities including clients, designers, constructors, and supervisors, and is currently pending in the National Assembly.

Democratic Party lawmaker Ahn Ho-young said, "The Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport are conducting a comprehensive inspection of 45,000 buildings currently under construction," adding, "Among the 81 sites operated by Hyundai Development Company, 12 sites with construction or risk issues are under special labor supervision." Lawmaker Lee Su-jin explained, "The current suspect is the site manager, but there is a possibility of expanding the investigation to higher-ups," and added, "About 120 people are inspecting Hyundai Development Company sites nationwide, and expansion of supervision to the headquarters is also under consideration."

Kim Young-bae, head of the Democratic Party's Industrial Accident Prevention Task Force (TF), said, "The problem lies in poor construction and supervision at the construction sites," and added, "To fundamentally prevent accidents, we requested assistance to ensure the Construction Safety Special Act is enacted as soon as possible."