3 Billion 'Luxury Apartment' with Chinese Glass... 'KS Mark' Forged

Late Issue Identified Years After Completion in Apartment Complex
GS Construction: "Subcontractor's Fault... We Are Also Victims"

GS Construction, which caused a collapse accident due to poor construction by removing rebar in an apartment construction, is now embroiled in controversy after it was belatedly revealed that they used counterfeit Chinese glass in a luxury apartment worth tens of billions of won per unit.

On the 28th, Yonhap News reported that it was recently confirmed that thousands of sheets of Chinese glass with forged Korean Standard (KS) marks were installed in the A apartment complex in Seocho-gu, Seoul, which GS Construction had built and completed several years ago. The report stated that the glass was installed in residents' rest and cultural spaces such as balcony railings, banquet halls, sky lounges, and rooftops. These locations require tempered glass that can withstand certain loads and impacts, but the Chinese products are known to have unverified performance. This apartment complex is located in Seocho-gu, Seoul, where the price per 3.3㎡ reaches 100 million won.

A view of the sky lounge in an apartment in Seocho-gu, Seoul, constructed by GS Construction. This sky lounge was built with a mix of genuine and counterfeit glass.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The fact that the problematic glass was installed was revealed late after a company that lost the glass bidding tracked the competitively low-priced winning company, secured evidence, and reported it to the police. The company that supplied the glass to GS Construction and the company that imported the counterfeit Chinese products were recently punished by authorities. GS Construction claimed to be a victim as well. The glass construction for the apartment complex was subcontracted to company D, during which a large quantity of counterfeit Chinese glass was imported, and GS Construction stated that they were unaware of this. According to GS Construction's confirmation with the subcontractor, T Glass imported 2,500 sheets of Chinese glass to meet product delivery deadlines, forged KS marks domestically, and mixed the counterfeit products with 1,500 sheets of genuine glass before delivery.

GS Construction Admits Responsibility for Poor Management... Plans to Replace All Glass

However, GS Construction, as the apartment builder, acknowledged responsibility for poor management and decided to replace all the installed glass with genuine products. They have prepared a budget of 1 billion won for this purpose. GS Construction also plans to file complaints and claim damages against the subcontractor responsible for the shoddy work. Nonetheless, the counterfeit Chinese glass had fake KS marks that were noticeably different from the genuine ones, making it easy to identify with the naked eye, which makes it difficult for GS Construction to avoid criticism for lax supervision.

The apartment management office has restricted residents' access to the areas where the problematic glass was installed due to the risk of accidents such as glass breakage and falls. The A apartment residents' representative meeting told Yonhap News, "The construction specifications require the use of KS-certified products, and using glass with forged quality marks violates the Building Act," adding, "The glass with forged quality marks cannot guarantee safety and can break from minor impacts, raising concerns about major safety accidents. We will file lawsuits against those involved on charges such as fraud and breach of trust."

Previously, on April 29th last year, around 11:30 PM, a collapse accident occurred at the Andante Xi apartment construction site in Geomdan New Town, Wondang-dong, Seo-gu, Incheon, built by GS Construction. The roof of the underground parking lot's first floor, planned as a children's playground, and the roof of the second floor of the underground parking lot collapsed sequentially. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's investigation, major rebar was missing from 19 out of 32 columns, leading GS Construction to earn the derogatory nickname "Sunsal Xi" (meaning "boneless Xi") on online communities. As a result of this accident, GS Construction was suspended from business for eight months and decided to completely demolish and reconstruct the collapsed parking lot and 17 already built apartment buildings.