'Gwangju Collapse Accident' Hyunsan 8 Sent to Prosecution... First Transfer in 73 Days

Three People Including Site Manager and Construction·Quality Control Head Detained for Investigation

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] Officials from Hyundai Development Company (HDC) suspected of causing the collapse accident at Hwajeong I-Park in Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City have been handed over to the prosecution.

The investigation headquarters for the collapse accident at the newly constructed apartment in Seo-gu, Gwangju (Gwangju Police Agency) announced on the 25th that eight HDC officials and the HDC corporation, suspected of professional negligence resulting in death and injury, have been sent to the prosecution.

Among them, site manager Mr. A, along with three others responsible for construction and quality control, were sent to prosecution under detention.

They are accused of neglecting to install support props (dongbari) as safety management officers, allowing construction to proceed, which led to the collapse of the exterior wall and floor of Building 201, resulting in the deaths of six workers and injuries to one.

It was also investigated that they changed the construction method on the top floor without structural review, illegally installed concrete water walls weighing tens of tons, and bore negligence responsibility for poor concrete strength quality.

Based on expert assessments from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s Building Accident Investigation Committee and the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency, the police regard early removal of lower-floor support props and unauthorized installation of concrete water walls as major causes of the collapse.

The police plan to sequentially send the remaining suspects to the prosecution.

The police have investigated a total of 20 people, including HDC officials, four officials from the subcontractor Gahyeon General Construction, and three site supervisors.

Among them, the Gahyeon site manager, executive director, and one supervisor have been detained and are awaiting additional prosecution.

A Gwangju Police Agency official stated, "Specific investigation results will be disclosed at an official interim investigation briefing scheduled for the 28th."

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