'Only One Drainage Channel for 280 Households?'... Landslide-Covered Parking Lot at Pangyo Officetel

More than a week after heavy rain, damage recovery not done
Only one 4-5m drainage channel built in front of parking lot
Seongnam City "No drainage issues pointed out during building review"

An underground parking lot of an officetel in Pangyo, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province, damaged by flooding. Each vehicle is marked with 'OK' or 'O'. These markings were made by firefighters on the 17th, indicating that there were no casualties. Photo by Gong Byung-sun mydillon@

On the 18th, an officetel in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province, still bore the scars of the heavy rain. The underground parking lot, flooded by the downpour on the 8th, has yet to be restored. Residents waited, looking at the list of submerged vehicles, wondering when their cars would be retrieved. Some residents went down to the underground parking lot themselves to check the license plates and damage levels of vehicles marked with ‘OK’ or ‘O’ on the windows. These marks were made by firefighters who visited on the 17th, indicating that no casualties occurred in those vehicles.

Resident Jeong (52) said, "It took a week after the flooding just to determine if there were any casualties, which shows how slow the recovery process is," adding, "I was away on a business trip when this damage happened, and I can only feel a sense of futility." According to officetel residents, about 150 vehicles on the B2 underground parking floor were all removed, but only about 10 vehicles on the B3 floor were taken out. The residents’ task force (TF) team reported that the damage includes 275 submerged vehicles, damage to shared facilities such as transformers and waterworks, and losses from flooded clothing and electronic devices, totaling 22.6 billion KRW. Approximately 280 households living in the officetel are still staying at relatives’ homes or temporary shelters.

Underground Parking Lot Turned into Mudflat... Soldiers Also Join Recovery Efforts

An underground parking lot of an officetel in Pangyo, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province, which suffered flood damage. The basement level 3 parking lot has not yet been drained of soil and rainwater.
Photo by Gong Byung-seon mydillon@

The underground parking lot the reporter visited was a scene of chaos. Vehicles stuck in the mud were tangled together. The B3 parking floor had not yet been cleared of mud, making it as difficult to walk on as a mudflat. Because transformers, auxiliary transformers, and generators were installed on the B3 floor, electricity was not restored, and the air purification system was broken, causing the parking lot to be filled with exhaust fumes and a rotting smell. Residents used temporary electrical facilities to get power briefly and went outside to fill water from fire hydrants when needed. It is known that restoring electrical facilities will take about 2 to 3 months.

About 20 to 30 residents voluntarily come out to work on weekdays, and 40 to 50 on weekends. The city provided heavy equipment support. Equipment such as excavators was brought down to the underground parking lot to remove soil and rainwater. Soldiers also joined the support efforts. Since the 16th, about 20 soldiers from the 55th Infantry Division located in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, have been assisting with recovery work. On that day, soldiers were sweating as they manually removed trash and mud that had flooded the underground parking lot’s storeroom.

Residents Claim Responsibility Lies with Construction Company and Seongnam City... Seongnam City Says No Prior Issues Reported Regarding Drainage

A downhill road in front of the underground parking lot of an officetel in Pangyo, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province, which suffered flood damage. Soil and rainwater from a nearby hill flowed directly into the underground parking lot. Residents claim that no drainage system was installed to handle this. / Photo by Gong Byung-seon mydillon@

Residents argue that the construction company and Seongnam City are responsible. Since moving in August 2018, building leaks and parking lot flooding have occurred, and they requested solutions, but no measures were taken. In fact, there was only one drainage channel about 4 to 5 meters wide in front of the officetel parking lot. There were no facilities to channel the water. Residents explained that the drainage facilities were grossly insufficient to handle this heavy rain.

Resident Kim (40) said, "The primary responsibility lies with the construction company for not properly building the drainage facilities, and the secondary responsibility lies with Seongnam City, which approved it in 2010," adding, "Not only should recovery and compensation for the damage be provided, but measures to prevent recurrence must also be established." Seongnam City explained that no issues had been raised regarding the drainage of the officetel until now. A city official stated, "During the building review process in 2016, there was no mention of drainage channels," and "Even during subsequent building use changes, no problems or insufficiencies regarding drainage were pointed out."

The office of Ahn Cheol-soo, a member of the People Power Party whose constituency includes the officetel, said they would assess the situation on-site and respond accordingly. On the 14th, Ahn visited the officetel to inspect the flood damage. Through Facebook, he said, "We installed bottled water, fire hydrants, and water facilities, and took measures to restore electricity," adding, "Additional deficiencies in the building and surrounding facilities have been revealed during this flood process, and after emergency measures, we will consider fundamental countermeasures."