Administrative Action Imposed Over Two Years After Hwajeong I-Park Collapse in Gwangju
HDC Hyundai Development Company: "We Will File for Stay of Execution and Seek Cancellation Through Lawsuit"
The Seoul Metropolitan Government has imposed a one-year business suspension on HDC Hyundai Development Company, the company responsible for the collapse accident at Hwajeong I-Park in Gwangju.
On the 19th, officials from the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the police conducted a search and seizure at the headquarters of HDC Hyundai Development Company in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, in connection with the collapse accident at Hwajeong I-Park in Seo-gu, Gwangju. Scene from the site on that day. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@
On May 16, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it had issued a notice on the 14th, imposing an eight-month business suspension on HDC Hyundai Development Company for "causing significant damage or casualties due to poor construction," and an additional four-month suspension for "a serious industrial accident under the Occupational Safety and Health Act."
The suspension period will run from June 9, 2025, to June 8, 2026. HDC Hyundai Development Company plans to file for a stay of execution against the administrative disposition.
HDC Hyundai Development Company stated, "For the sake of our employees, partners, customers, and investors, we will immediately apply for a stay of execution against the administrative disposition and respond through an administrative lawsuit to seek its cancellation."
However, construction projects for which contracts were signed or permits were obtained before the administrative disposition, in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, may continue to proceed.
On January 11, 2022, a structure collapsed at the Hwajeong I-Park construction site in Seo-gu, Gwangju, resulting in the deaths of six workers and injuries to one other.
As a result of this accident, 20 individuals, including three corporations?HDC Hyundai Development Company as the main contractor, a subcontractor, and a supervisory firm?were indicted. In the first trial in January, the site manager of HDC Hyundai Development Company was sentenced to four years in prison, and the company was fined 500 million won.
Previously, in March 2022, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport recommended that HDC Hyundai Development Company be subject to cancellation of its construction business registration or a business suspension of up to one year due to the Hwajeong I-Park collapse and other incidents.
After the Hwajeong I-Park collapse, HDC Hyundai Development Company completed the demolition of the above-ground residential section at the end of last year and began reconstruction. The name of the apartment complex under reconstruction will be changed to "Gwangju Centennial I-Park."
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