HDC Hyunsan Knew About Illegal Side Contracts, Court Testimony

Gwangju 'Hakdong Collapse Disaster' 4th Trial, Hansol Site Manager Witness Examination

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] In the trial of the Gwangju 'Hakdong Collapse Disaster,' court testimony revealed that HDC Hyundai Development Company was aware of the illegal side contracts made by subcontractors.

The Criminal Division 11 of the Gwangju District Court (Presiding Judge Jeong Ji-seon) held a trial for seven construction officials and three companies (HDC Hyundai Development Company, Hansol Enterprise, Baeksol Enterprise) accused of professional negligence resulting in death or injury, and conducted witness questioning of Hansol site manager Kang Mo (28).

First, the demolition contract was illegally subcontracted in the order of HDC Hyundai Development Company → Hansol Enterprise and Dawon ENC → Baeksol Construction.

Kang stated in response to the prosecution's question, "Did Hyundai Development know that Hansol and Dawon had entered into a side contract?" that "I think they were aware."

He added, "Considering that the Dawon site manager and Hyundai Development's public works manager held meetings together, although we (Hansol) did not disclose it, it seems they knew about the side contract and that the construction was being carried out jointly."

At the meeting at that time, the Dawon site manager reportedly introduced the team as an asbestos removal team on the surface, not as a general construction team.

Regarding whether Hyundai Development was aware of the illegal subcontracting, he answered, "I don't know well."

The core issue in this case's trial is how deeply the primary contractor, Hyundai Development, was involved in the demolition process.

According to the witness's testimony that day, Hyundai Development's public works manager Noh Mo (57) made a follow-up call urging for the quick preparation of the demolition plan after receiving the contact number of the employee responsible for drafting the demolition plan from Kang on December 28 of last year.

The prosecution emphasized that "Hyundai Development was involved even in the daily logs of the demolition plan preparation."

Regarding excessive water spraying, considered one of the causes of the building collapse, Kang stated that "Hyundai Development instructed the water spraying, ignoring the concerns of Hansol and Baeksol."

On the day of the accident, unlike usual, a total of eight water trucks were additionally mobilized to spray water, which caused water to seep into the embankment, accelerating the building collapse.

Kang also testified that after the disaster, at Hyundai Development's request, he briefed the police on the statements he made during the investigation.

He further added that under Hyundai Development's instructions, photos related to the demolition were sent to the supervisor, making it appear as if the supervision was conducted on paper without the supervisor visiting the site directly.

Meanwhile, on June 9 at around 4:22 p.m., a five-story building under demolition at the Hakdong 4 District redevelopment construction site collapsed, crushing a city bus, resulting in nine passengers dead and eight injured.

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