'Gwangju Building Collapse' Contractor HDC Hyundai Development Company Also Negligent in Honam High-Speed Railway Construction

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] It has been revealed that Hyundai Development Company, the contractor for the redevelopment project in Hakdong, Gwangju Metropolitan City, where a building collapse disaster occurred, also performed substandard construction in the Honam High-Speed Railway project, but the Korea Rail Network Authority (KR) overlooked it and did not even impose penalty points.

Assemblyman Jo O-seop (Gwangju Buk-gu Gap, Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee & Budget Committee) stated, "KR held a penalty review committee meeting on April 6 and decided to cancel the penalty points imposed on Hyundai Development Company (50%) and two other companies, as well as two supervision companies, for substandard construction in Section 3-4 of the Honam High-Speed Railway."

The first phase of the Honam High-Speed Railway (Osong to Gwangju Songjeong) has experienced settlements exceeding the allowable limit (30 mm) in the earthwork sections constructed with concrete tracks (55.6 km), and 97 locations (24.8 km) are currently undergoing defect repairs.

In July last year, the Board of Audit and Inspection notified KR to impose penalty points on Hyundai Development Company and two other construction companies in Section 3-4, A Construction and three other companies in Section 2-1, and supervision companies after confirming substandard construction in the first phase of the Honam High-Speed Railway.

These companies used poor embankment materials and neglected compaction during embankment subgrade construction, contrary to the construction specifications, resulting in settlements exceeding allowable standards even before the railway's opening, with residual settlements occurring annually after opening.

Penalty points of 2 points were imposed on Hyundai Development Company and two other construction companies in Section 3-4 and A Construction and three other companies in Section 2-1 (as of February 1, 2021), but the penalty points on Hyundai Development Company and two other companies were canceled because the defect liability period (May 2014 to April 2019) had expired according to the Enforcement Decree of the Construction Technology Promotion Act.

However, the defects in Section 3-4 occurred between 2015 and 2016, KR issued a strict warning to the contractor and supervisor in March 2015, and repairs were made in November 2018, all within the defect liability period.

Furthermore, in 11 sections of Section 3-4, the maximum settlement ranged from 42 to 108 mm, significantly exceeding the allowable limit (30 mm), but only one section was repaired, and the remaining 10 sections did not undergo repair work.

Ultimately, KR, knowing Hyundai Development Company's substandard construction and responsibility, overlooked the issue and provided grounds for canceling the penalty points.

Assemblyman Jo said, "Hyundai Development Company, the perpetrator of the Gwangju Hakdong disaster, also performed substandard construction in the Honam High-Speed Railway subgrade work, but KR overlooked it until receiving the penalty notification from the Board of Audit and Inspection," adding, "KR's complacent and incompetent management of the Honam High-Speed Railway construction caused Hyundai Development Company's brazenness in seeking to cancel penalty points despite substandard construction."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.