Police Conduct Search and Seizure at Developer HDC I&C in Gwangju Collapse Incident

Detection of Unregistered Resale Activities by the Developer

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] The police investigating the collapse accident at Hwajeong I-Park in Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City have conducted a search and seizure on four entities, including the developer HDC I&Cons.

The investigation headquarters for the collapse accident at the newly built apartment in Seo-gu, Gwangju (Gwangju Police Agency) announced on the 24th that they executed search warrants on four entities, including HDC I&Cons, a land proxy purchase company, and a demolition company, on charges of violating the Special Measures Act on Real Estate Registration (unregistered resale).

According to the police investigation, HDC I&Cons purchased 23 land parcels (approximately 20,000㎡) of the new construction site for Hwajeong I-Park through a local small and medium-sized company, Company A.

It is known that HDC I&Cons, an affiliate of Hyundai Development Company, conducted the transaction through a skip-level registration, anticipating that if they purchased the land directly, the landowners would quote higher prices than the market rate due to the 'financial power of a large corporation.'

The police stated, "We detected the developer's unregistered resale activity, have booked some related persons, and have begun a forced investigation."

So far, 16 individuals have been criminally booked, including Hyundai Development Company’s construction manager, site manager, supervisor, and subcontractor representatives, but the exact number of additional booked persons has not yet been confirmed.

They are suspected of neglecting their duty of care during the new construction process, resulting in the death of workers.

The accident occurred on the 11th of last month at around 3:46 p.m., when part of Building 201 of the Hwajeong I-Park apartment, under construction by Hyundai Development Company, collapsed from the 38th floor down to the 23rd floor. Six workers who were working at the time died as a result.

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