Samjeong Enterprises and Samjeong ENC Face Liquidity Crisis
"We Will Do Our Best to Compensate Victims Separately from Rehabilitation Process"
On the morning of the 14th, Samjeong Enterprises and Samjeong ENC, the construction companies of the Banyan Tree Resort in Busan where a fire claimed six lives, filed for corporate rehabilitation due to liquidity crisis.
Samjeong Enterprises and Samjeong ENC announced on the 27th that they had applied for corporate rehabilitation at the rehabilitation court. Samjeong Enterprises explained, "Due to the recent downturn in the construction market and rising prices, we have incurred approximately 250 billion KRW in uncollected receivables, and we have been experiencing a liquidity crisis caused by complex factors including setbacks in long-term project development."
They added, "The recent fire at the Banyan Tree Resort construction site has made the collection of over 100 billion KRW in remaining construction receivables uncertain, and financial institutions have completely halted additional funding, worsening our management difficulties. We promise to do our best to improve our financial structure and normalize business operations as soon as possible through the rehabilitation process to minimize the impact on our creditors." They also emphasized, "We will conduct the corporate rehabilitation process transparently and sincerely and continue responsible management under the supervision of the court."
Furthermore, Samjeong Enterprises stated, "We once again express our deepest condolences and sincere sympathies to the victims who lost their precious lives in the Banyan Tree fire accident. Separate from this rehabilitation process, we will do our utmost to ensure appropriate compensation and support for the victims and their families affected by the fire."
The fire occurred around 10:51 a.m. on the 14th at the new construction site of the 'Banyan Tree Haeundae Busan' complex resort near Orangdae Park in the Osiria Tourist Complex, Gijang-gun, Busan. At the time of the fire, about 780 workers from 35 subcontractors were at the site; the fire resulted in six workers dead and 27 sustaining minor injuries such as smoke inhalation.
Meanwhile, the Busan Police Agency’s dedicated investigation team announced on the 28th that they had received a forensic report on the cause of the fire from the National Forensic Service. According to the report, the fire started from the ceiling on the floor directly below the piping room (PT room). The PT room was also identified as the initial ignition point during the joint on-site investigation of the fire. A police official stated, "The exact cause of the fire is currently under additional reinforcement investigation based on the National Forensic Service’s findings, so it is difficult to disclose details at this time."
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