Citizen Committee: "Repeating the Hakdong Disaster... Hyundai Development Should Be Expelled from Gwangju"

The exterior walls and internal structures from the 28th to 34th floors collapsed during concrete pouring at Hwajeong I-Park Apartment in Seogu.

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Jo Hyung-joo] A civic group in Gwangju appealed regarding the Hwajeong I-Park exterior wall collapse accident, saying, "It is a repetition of the Hakdong disaster," and urged, "Hyundai Development Company must take responsibility and leave Gwangju."

The Hakdong Disaster Citizens' Countermeasure Committee raised their voice on the 12th through a statement, saying, "Before the pain of the Hakdong disaster has even faded, an unbelievable accident occurred again in Gwangju where the exterior wall of an apartment under construction collapsed," adding, "Moreover, it is an apartment construction site being built by Hyundai Development Company, the main culprit of the Hakdong disaster."

They continued, "Six Gwangju citizens were buried during the apartment collapse," and urged, "The Gwangju city government and administrative authorities must put all their efforts into rescuing them above all else."

The Citizens' Countermeasure Committee stated, "This accident is also known to have occurred during an unreasonable construction process aimed at shortening the construction period by pursuing profit while neglecting safety," and said, "This accident can essentially be defined as a repetition of the Hakdong disaster."

They also said, "The demolition process, which proceeded while disregarding safety rules to shorten the construction period, and the process of forcibly pouring concrete without observing the curing period to shorten the construction period resemble each other like twins," adding, "It cannot be ruled out that price-cutting to maximize the profits of the primary contractor's capital and illegal subcontracting occurred not only during the demolition process but also during this concrete pouring process."

They went on, "Even after the Hakdong disaster, Hyundai Development Company has neglected safety and only shouted for profit and efficiency," and said, "Nevertheless, Hyundai Development Company shamelessly claims that it will handle this incident in cooperation with related agencies," adding, "We no longer want to be victims of Hyundai Development Company's illegalities and corruption. Hyundai Development Company must take full responsibility for its criminal acts and leave Gwangju."

The Citizens' Countermeasure Committee pointed out, "The police bear significant responsibility for consistently conducting lenient investigations, which allowed Hyundai Development Company to act arrogantly and cause the accident," and said, "It must be said that the inadequate investigation into the illegal circumstances of Hyundai Development Company and the redevelopment association during the Hakdong disaster, the failure to identify the primary contractor's responsibility, and the light punishments were among the causes that led to this tragic incident happening again."

Furthermore, they said, "The Gwangju city government and autonomous districts did not accept the demands of civil society for effective safety inspection manuals, citing regulatory deficiencies," and added, "Safety inspections, which should be conducted regularly and meticulously at every stage from building permits and approvals to usage authorization, are still not being carried out."

They continued, "Measures to fundamentally block the corrupt structure of redevelopment projects, which are the root cause of the accident, are also delayed," emphasizing, "While hesitating to consider the interests of construction capital, another tragic incident has repeated."

The Citizens' Countermeasure Committee urged, "The political sphere must immediately revise the Serious Accident Punishment Act, which has been fragmented to prevent clearly holding the primary contractor accountable while watching the capital's interests," and pointed out, "If a complete bill that allows punishment of the primary contractor's responsible person in case of an accident had been enacted, such tragic incidents would not have been repeated."

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