Speeding Up Police Investigation of 'Gwangju Apartment Collapse Accident'... 13 Criminals Booked

Three Additional Subcontractors Charged with Negligent Homicide in Concrete Pouring

Accident Investigation Committee to Announce First Analysis of Collapse Cause Within This Week

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] A subcontractor official has been additionally booked in connection with the collapse accident at Hwajeong I-Park in Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City.

The Investigation Headquarters for the New Apartment Collapse Accident in Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City (Gwangju Police Agency) announced on the 14th that three officials from the company that poured concrete have been booked and are under investigation on charges of professional negligence causing death and injury.

Accordingly, six officials from Hyundai Development Company, four officials from subcontractors (one person booked twice), and three supervisors have become subjects of investigation.

Among them, some are also facing charges of violating the Building Act and the Framework Act on the Construction Industry.

They have not yet directly targeted the Hyundai Development Company headquarters. It is known that there are no revealed charges against the officials, so plans for additional bookings are undecided.

Regarding illegal subcontracting and illegalities in the complaint handling process or suspicions of collusion with public officials, no witness investigations targeting public officials of the relevant district office have been scheduled yet.

The police conducted two on-site inspections recently with related agencies such as the National Forensic Service, Ministry of Employment and Labor, National Disaster Research Institute, and Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency after all six victims' bodies were recovered.

For the first time, they entered the collapsed building and collected 68 concrete samples from the 23rd to 39th floors, reviewing whether the construction was carried out identically according to the design drawings and examining the collapse progression and factors using 3D scanners and other tools.

Based on the joint inspection results, the Accident Investigation Committee under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, including the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency, is expected to announce the first analysis results of the collapse cause within this week.

Analysis results of the samples collected on-site will also be released soon. It is anticipated that whether there were issues with concrete curing or materials will be disclosed.

Through scientific cause identification, it is expected that the negligence of the suspects will be clearly revealed, and the direction of handling their custody will soon be determined.

The police have scheduled a series of summons and investigations for the booked individuals and witnesses until the scientific evidence from related agencies is released, starting investigations as early as this weekend.

So far, the main suspected causes of the collapse are ▲non-installation of dongbari (support props) ▲unauthorized installation of yeokbo (water retaining walls). Regarding the removal of dongbari, Hyundai Development Company and the subcontractor are shifting responsibility to each other, and it is reported that confrontation interviews and lie detector tests are being conducted to ascertain the facts.

An official from the investigation headquarters said, "Scientific identification of the cause is most important in punishing those responsible for negligence," and added, "until then, we will continue to summon and investigate related parties to prove negligence."

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