[Exclusive] 'Rebar Omission' at LH Byeollae Apartment... "No Supervisory Manager for Over Two Months"

Supervisor Changed Twice with Unassigned Period
Serious Supervisory Staff Turnover, 14 Replacements Across Most Trades
LH's Only Action Against Supervisory Firms Is a 'Quality Deficiency Notice'

An apartment complex managed by Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, was found to have missing rebar in the underground parking lot (126 out of 302 flat slabs were insufficient). During the construction period, the supervision system did not function properly. The person in overall charge of supervision was replaced twice, and for two months, there was no person responsible at all.

Moreover, it was revealed that most of the resident supervisors in various construction fields were replaced multiple times during the construction period, indicating a serious overall gap in supervision. Despite this, LH, the client responsible for managing, supervising, and correcting these issues, approved the completion without taking any significant measures. This has led to criticism that LH may have neglected its duties.

The supervisor who worked for one month stamped the final supervision report

Namyangju Byeollae LH Apartment, where reinforcement bars in the underground parking lot were found missing. During the construction period, most of the resident supervisors in various construction fields were replaced several times, resulting in a serious overall supervision gap. Photo by Huh Younghan younghan@

On the 17th, Asia Economy analyzed the ‘Final Construction Management Report’ for Byeollae A25 in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, submitted by LH through the office of Representative Heo Young of the Democratic Party, a member of the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, and found that the supervision gap at the construction site was severe.

This report, written in June 2022, bore the seal of the chief construction management engineer (special grade), Mr. Hong __, who was assigned to the site for exactly one month from April 29 to May 29 of the same year. The civil engineering work (September 30, 2019 ? February 28, 2022) and architectural and mechanical work (February 29, 2020 ? February 13, 2022) had already been completed by then. He submitted the report as the overall manager of construction management, and LH approved the report and granted the completion permit.

Furthermore, the position of chief engineer at this site was replaced twice during the construction period (November 26, 2019 ? May 29, 2022), and was vacant from February 15 to April 29, 2022. The absence of a chief engineer violates the standards for placement of facilities and construction engineers for quality control of construction work (Article 50, Paragraph 4 of the Construction Technology Promotion Act), which can result in business suspension, fines, or penalty points depending on the situation.

However, LH, the client responsible for management, supervision, and correction, did not impose any sanctions on the supervision companies involved in the site (D Architecture Office, M General Architecture Office, S Engineering Group).

Regarding this, LH explained that as part of sanctions against supervisors related to the chief engineer vacancy and quality deficiencies, they issued a ‘Quality Deficiency Notice’ in January 2022 and took measures to assign two executives from the supervision companies to normalize the site. However, January 2022 was before the chief engineer vacancy occurred, making it difficult to link this action to the vacancy, and the Quality Deficiency Notice was also a document without significant administrative sanction effect.

Additionally, the Byeollae A25 construction site in Namyangju was recorded as having severe supervisor personnel turnover throughout the construction period. Eleven supervisors were assigned, but during the construction period (November 26, 2019 ? May 29, 2022), 14 resigned or were replaced, totaling 25 supervisors passing through. Resident supervisor replacements occurred in most fields including chief, architecture (1?4), civil engineering, mechanical, and landscaping, with only electrical and communication fields completing without supervisor changes.

“It is a stroke of luck that the construction was completed without accidents”

Temporary reinforcement structures have been installed in the underground parking lot of Namyangju Byeollae LH Apartment, where it was revealed that the reinforcing steel bars were missing. Photo by Heo Younghan younghan@

Industry experts and professionals diagnosed the large-scale supervisor personnel turnover at the Byeollae A25 construction site in Namyangju as a collapse of the supervision system. While personnel turnover occurs at many sites due to the relatively poor treatment in the supervision sector compared to design or construction, it is rare to find a site as severe as Byeollae A25. In particular, the replacement of two chief engineers and the occurrence of a vacancy were pointed out as serious problems.

An anonymous private construction company official (site manager) said, “It varies by site, but replacing up to five supervisors is common,” adding, “However, when more than ten personnel, from chief engineers to field supervisors, are replaced as in Byeollae A25, it can be said that there was effectively no supervision at the site.” He continued, “Naturally, Byeollae A25 must have been a chaotic site,” and added, “It is a stroke of luck that the construction was completed without accidents.”

There are also voices criticizing LH’s negligence in managing the site. Professor Cha Hee-seong of the Department of Architecture at Ajou University said, “Construction is not an industry that produces products, but one that manages processes to ensure safety,” and added, “The client has an obligation to take thorough principles and measures in management, supervision, and correction, but LH neglected this, which is a dereliction of duty.”