"House Prices Falling... Consumers Show Distrust, Suggest Removing 'I-Park' Name"

Growing Doubts After Gwangju Apartment Exterior Wall Collapse
'I-Park Is a Avoided Brand' Community Survey Emerges
HDC Hyundai Development "Will Diligently Search for Missing and Investigate Cause"

The scene of the exterior wall collapse accident at Hwajeong Hyundai I-Park mixed-use apartment in Seo-gu, Gwangju / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Following the collapse of the exterior wall of an apartment in Gwangju, consumer doubts about the construction company of this apartment, 'HDC Hyundai Development Company,' are increasing. In some real estate-related online communities, survey results have emerged showing that HDC Hyundai Development Company's apartment brand 'I-Park' is considered an undesirable brand, and there have been calls to remove the I-Park name from the apartment complexes where residents live.

On the 12th, a survey titled 'I-Park Brand Survey' was posted on a real estate-related online community. This survey asked consumers to choose between two answers: 'I still think I-Park is a top-tier brand' or 'It has a strong image of poor construction, so it is an undesirable brand.' Nearly 80% of respondents chose the undesirable brand option.

Concerns have also been raised that the name 'I-Park,' HDC's apartment brand, might negatively affect housing prices. One netizen argued, "We cannot trust the construction site management level of the contractor. The value of our apartment will decline," and suggested removing 'I-Park' from the apartment complex name.

In addition, negative comments such as "Poor construction in 2022?", "Who would live here feeling unsafe?", and "No one will look for I-Park anymore" poured in.

Earlier, on the 11th, according to the Gwangju Fire Headquarters and others, an accident occurred at the Hwajeong I-Park apartment construction site in Hwajeong-dong, Seo-gu, Gwangju, where HDC Hyundai Development Company was constructing the building, causing the upper exterior wall of the building to collapse.

On the 12th, the second day since the structural collapse of the Hwajeong Hyundai I-Park mixed-use apartment complex in Seo-gu, Gwangju, search dogs were deployed at the accident site to look for missing persons. / Photo by Yonhap News

As a result of this accident, six workers who were working at the construction site at the time went missing and their whereabouts are currently being investigated. Among them, three were performing masonry work on the 28th to 29th floors where the exterior wall collapsed, and the other three were working on window installation on the 31st to 34th floors. Debris from the collapsed exterior wall also damaged about 20 vehicles parked nearby.

The fire authorities are conducting safety inspections and additional rescue operations due to concerns about further structural collapse.

The apartment where the accident occurred is a building with four basement floors and 39 above-ground floors, consisting of seven buildings and 847 households. Construction began with a notification on March 13, 2020. The total planned construction period is from June 2019 to November of this year.

On the morning of the 12th at 10 a.m., Yoo Byung-kyu, CEO of HDC Hyundai Development Company, bowed his head and issued an apology near the Fire Agency's accident response headquarters at the accident site.

CEO Yoo said, "I deeply apologize to the missing persons, their families, and the citizens of Gwangju who have been affected by this unfortunate accident at our HDC Hyundai Development Company's construction site," adding, "I am very ashamed."

He continued, "An accident that should never have happened occurred. We fully accept our responsibility," and emphasized, "Since the search and rescue of the missing persons is the top priority, we will work closely with the Fire Headquarters, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Gwangju Metropolitan City, Seo-gu Office, and other related agencies to ensure thorough search efforts."

He added, "Immediately after the accident, I, along with about 50 executives, employees, and structural safety experts, were dispatched to the accident site," and said, "We will take all necessary additional measures going forward and will sincerely cooperate with investigations by law enforcement and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to determine the cause of the accident."

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