Scientific Cause of 'Gwangju Collapse Accident' Identified... "Focus on Dongbari Removal"

Illegal Subcontracting by Subcontractors Also Identified... "Investigation Needed on Price Undercutting"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] The police investigating the Gwangju collapse accident are placing the greatest weight on the removal of the support props as the cause of the accident.

The Gwangju Seo-gu New Apartment Collapse Accident Investigation Headquarters (Gwangju Police Agency) announced on the 22nd that it received an analysis report from the Korea Construction Quality Institute the day before.

The 39th-floor floor surface of the collapsed building was originally planned to be constructed using traditional formwork, but the method was changed midway to the deck plate construction method (a special formwork that can minimize the installation of supports). It has not yet been confirmed whether using the deck constitutes a design change.

On the floor just below, the PIT floor (equipment floor where piping and other facilities are located) had seven counterforts (vertical concrete walls without rebar) weighing tens of tons installed to support the deck.

This area, through which piping passes, was expected to bear little load, so the floor slab strength was constructed relatively weaker than in corridors and other areas.

According to the report, the PIT floor can withstand a load of 2008 kgf/㎡. However, due to the unauthorized installation of counterforts and others, the load coming down from above is 4098 kgf/㎡, which is more than double.

As a result, part of the PIT floor could not bear the weight and deformed, causing the deck plates, ceiling, and others to collapse in a chain reaction.

It is analyzed that if the support props acting as supports on the 38th floor below had been installed according to regulations, only a partial collapse would have occurred.

According to the National Construction Standards Center's standard specifications, when performing concrete pouring formwork on buildings over 30 floors and 120 meters in height, support props must be placed on the three floors below.

Those charged from Hyundai Development Company denied giving instructions to remove the support props but admitted some charges on the grounds that failing to check the presence of support props was a mistake.

Official cause analysis must go through the National Forensic Service, Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Construction Accident Investigation Committee. However, the announcements from these related agencies and the Korea Construction Quality Institute are expected to be largely consistent.

Once scientific verification is completed, it is expected that the connection to the duty of care violations by those charged will be found, and personnel measures will be taken as early as this week.

The investigation headquarters has so far investigated 63 related persons and charged a total of 16 people, including overlapping charges against current and former site managers of the construction company Hyundai Development Company.

Among them, the Anti-Corruption Economic Crime Investigation Unit has charged three people, including subcontractor representatives, corporations, and equipment rental company representatives, and is investigating suspicions of illegal subcontracting.

It was investigated that the subcontractor received a subcontract for reinforced concrete pouring work from Hyundai Development Company and illegally subcontracted part of it again to an equipment rental company.

The labor provision agreement signed between the subcontractor and the equipment rental company determined the unit price based on the amount of concrete pouring rather than working hours, and included provisions for providing construction materials to the subcontractor, which was regarded as subcontracting.

An official from the investigation headquarters stated, "We will do our best to hold responsible parties accountable according to their authority if negligence is revealed through future investigations."

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