34 Injured and Dead in 'Gwangju Club Collapse Accident'; Business Owners Sentenced to Prison and Probation

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] The owner of the Gwangju club collapse accident, which resulted in 34 casualties, received a suspended sentence and avoided imprisonment.

According to the legal community on the 3rd, Judge Oh Yeon-su of the Gwangju District Court Criminal Division 3 sentenced six people indicted on charges including professional negligence causing death or injury, violation of the Building Act, and violation of the Food Sanitation Act to suspended prison sentences and fines.

Co-owner A (55) was sentenced to 2 years in prison with a 4-year suspension and fined 7 million won, while B (47) and C (49) were sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison with a 3-year suspension and fined 7 million won each.

D (42), who lent his name as a club owner and was in charge of fund management, was sentenced to 1 year in prison with a 2-year suspension and fined 4 million won.

The two previous owners who carried out the first illegal extension before the accident received fines, and two safety managers responsible for regular building inspections were acquitted.

They were tried on charges of illegally extending a club in Chipyeong-dong, Seo-gu, Gwangju from July to September 2016 and failing to deploy safety personnel, which caused the collapse of a mezzanine structure in the club in the early morning of July 27, 2019.

The accident resulted in 2 deaths and 32 injuries, including foreign athletes participating in the Gwangju World Swimming Championships.

After the two previous owners illegally extended a 13.3㎡ mezzanine in the first phase from July to September 2015, A and others added an additional 16.82㎡ mezzanine in the second phase by incompletely welding thin materials without reviewing architectural structural standards regarding design drawings or load.

This club was a general restaurant, not a nightlife establishment, but allowed patrons to dance before the enforcement of the 'Ordinance on the Operation of General Restaurants Where Dancing is Permitted in the Seating Area' in Seo-gu, Gwangju, where the lobby was located.

Even after the ordinance was applied, 393 people were admitted, exceeding the allowed capacity of 349, and the accident occurred as excessive numbers of people were left on the poorly constructed mezzanine.

Judge Oh stated, "The defendants' negligence caused many casualties, and the blame is considerable."

However, he added, "Considering that this was a case of negligence rather than intentional crime, that amicable settlements were reached with domestic victims, and that efforts are being made to restore damages to foreign victims."

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