Police and Ministry of Labor Conduct Search and Seizure at Gwangju Apartment Collapse Site Office

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] Police and other authorities have begun a search and seizure operation targeting the site office related to the collapse accident at Hwajeong I-Park in Seo-gu, Gwangju.

The Investigation Headquarters for the newly constructed apartment collapse accident in Seo-gu, Gwangju (Gwangju Police Agency) and the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced that at 2 p.m. on the 14th, they jointly executed search and seizure warrants at the Hyeonsan I-Park site office and the supervision office in Seo-gu, Gwangju.

The accident occurred around 3:46 p.m. on the 11th when some structures from the 23rd to 38th floors collapsed while concrete was being poured on the 39th floor, causing one worker to sustain minor injuries and six workers to go missing.

Immediately after the accident, the police formed an investigation headquarters and booked A (49), the site manager of Hyundai Development Company, on charges of violating the Building Act, obtaining search and seizure warrants for the site office and subcontractors.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor also booked two individuals, the site safety and health general manager and the site manager of the concrete framework company, on charges of violating the Industrial Safety and Health Act and is conducting a joint search and seizure operation.

Although the police conducted a search and seizure on three subcontractors on the 12th, access to the site office and supervision office inside the accident site was restricted due to safety concerns such as the risk of further collapse, preventing execution of the warrants.

Judging that safety was secured to a limited extent and entry to the site was possible, the police, with the cooperation of the fire department, entered the site office and are conducting the search and seizure operation.

The police plan to secure construction-related documents, supervision logs, and other materials through the search and seizure to identify the cause of the accident and investigate any illegal activities such as poor construction.

Site manager A, employees, two supervisors, and subcontractor representatives, who are witnesses, have all denied any connection to the accident during police investigations so far, stating that "construction was carried out normally and supervision and oversight were thorough."

The police will analyze the materials obtained through the search and seizure, secure additional statements, and if specific illegal activities are confirmed, increase the number of booked individuals and apply additional charges.

Additionally, in preparation for any possible flight risk, travel bans have been imposed on key related persons.

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