Have We Forgotten the Lessons of Sampoong Department Store... Safety Negligence Persists Even After the Disaster

NC Department Store Yatap Branch, Ceiling Crack Safety Inspection
"Sampung Department Store Also Had Ceiling Cracks Before Collapse"

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] A department store that continued operations despite cracks in the ceiling gypsum board has suspended its business, sparking criticism that safety negligence is widespread in our society. It is emphasized that we must not forget the painful lessons learned from incidents such as the collapse of Sampoong Department Store in June 1995 and the Gwangju Hwajeong I-Park disaster in 2022.

On the 17th, Seongnam City in Gyeonggi Province notified NC Department Store Yatap Branch, where cracks were found in the ceiling gypsum board, to restrict the use of the building. As a result, the Yatap Branch has suspended operations and will undergo a detailed safety inspection. Depending on the inspection results, the scope of repairs and reinforcements will be determined, and the building cannot be used until all necessary measures are completed and safety is ensured.

NC Department Store Yatap Branch has been criticized for continuing business after fixing the cracked ceiling gypsum board with wooden plywood and sticks. Notably, a ceiling collapse involving gypsum material also occurred in July 2018, fueling controversy over safety negligence.

On the morning of the 17th, officials from the disaster safety departments of Gyeonggi Province and Seongnam City inspected the site on the 1st and 2nd floors undergoing a detailed safety inspection at the NC Department Store Yatap Branch in Seongnam City, Gyeonggi Province. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Safety negligence refers to a state where awareness of the possibility of exposure to danger or potential safety accidents becomes dulled, leading to a lack of serious consideration of accident risks. Voices of self-reflection are emerging, emphasizing that tragic incidents that could have been prevented by carefully observing warning signs must not be repeated.

The ceiling cracks pointed out in this incident recall the Sampoong Department Store collapse in June 1995. Two months before the collapse, warning signs such as cracks appeared in the ceiling of the 5th-floor restaurant area, but these were ignored and business continued recklessly, leading to a major disaster. Sampoong Department Store, visited by over 10,000 customers daily and known as a "symbol of Seoul's prosperity," turned into a pile of concrete rubble in just 20 seconds. The accident resulted in 502 deaths, 937 injuries, and 6 missing persons.

The collapse of the Hwajeong I-Park in Dong-gu, Gwangju, which occurred just a year ago, was also a man-made disaster caused by safety negligence. On January 11 last year, the outer wall of Building 201 in the 2nd complex of the apartment under construction collapsed sequentially from the 38th to the 23rd floor, killing six workers. Investigations revealed that during the floor concreting on the 39th floor, the supporting props on the three lower floors were arbitrarily removed, and construction was forced to proceed recklessly to meet the move-in schedule, leading to the collapse disaster.