Gwangju City "Demolition and Reconstruction Considered if Safety of Collapsed Apartment Not Secured"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Gwangju Metropolitan City plans to consider the complete demolition and reconstruction of the accident building related to the collapse of the Hyundai Development Company’s newly constructed apartment.

On the morning of the 13th, Mayor Lee Yong-seop of Gwangju made a statement regarding the accident and measures to prevent recurrence during a site briefing.

The mayor said, “Yesterday, we issued an immediate administrative order to halt construction at five Hyundai Development Company construction sites in the Gwangju area,” adding, “There will be no resumption of construction without securing absolute safety.”

He continued, “Especially for the apartment construction site where this collapse accident occurred, we will conduct a thorough inspection with experts, and if the building’s safety is not guaranteed, we will consider the option of complete demolition and reconstruction,” emphasizing, “We will also review legally excluding Hyundai Development Company from participating in projects promoted by our city for a certain period.”

Furthermore, he explained, “Currently, each district office appoints supervisory teams for construction site management, but site management is not being conducted thoroughly and properly,” adding, “We will introduce and establish a public supervisory team system to thoroughly inspect safety at projects above a certain scale, and if any issues arise, construction will be immediately halted and corrected to fundamentally and reliably prevent safety accidents.”

He also stated, “From May 2019, when the Hyundai Development Company apartment construction began, until this month, 386 complaints regarding noise, scattered dust, and other issues were received by the Seo-gu Office, and administrative actions such as fines were imposed on 27 of these cases,” adding, “The Gwangju City Audit Committee will conduct a special audit on whether the supervisory authorities failed in their management and supervision, and if problems are found, strict accountability will be enforced and exemplary punishment will be carried out.”

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