Public Parking Lot Completed 3 Years Ago Leaks Water with Just 32mm Rain... Suspected Poor Construction

Numerous Water Leak Stains on Ceiling of Gwangju Buk-gu Imdong Public Parking Lot

Some Parking Spaces Closed Due to Rainwater Drips, 'Ravacon' Barriers Installed

Residents Worry About Heavy Rain Like in Seoul and Gyeonggi

At around 7 p.m. on the 20th, water stains were visible on the ceiling of the public parking lot in Im-dong, Buk-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City. Below it, a "safety cone," seemingly indicating not to park in that spot, was placed.

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] A public parking lot in Gwangju Metropolitan City, completed only three years ago, is suspected of poor construction as water leaked from the ceiling when it rained. Along with this, there are criticisms that there may have been loopholes in the management and supervision by Gwangju City.

Recently, with heavy rain falling in Seoul and Gyeonggi for the first time in 115 years, residents sensitive to rain damage are collectively expressing anxiety about what would happen if heavy rain fell in the Gwangju area as well.

At around 7 p.m. on the 20th, at the public parking lot in Imdong, Buk-gu, Gwangju.

This place is a public parking lot with 301 spaces, constructed by Gwangju City starting in December 2018 and completed in August 2019 to alleviate chronic parking difficulties whenever there is a baseball game at Champions Field. It has been open and operating since April 2020.

Although more than seven hours had passed since the rain stopped that morning, there were water stains from leaks all over the ceiling here.

There were still places where water was dripping, and in some parking spaces, “safety cones” (commonly called lava cones), seemingly indicating “Do not park because water is dripping,” were installed.

There were roughly 20 to 30 such water stains on the ceiling, and old-looking stains that seemed not to be a one-time problem were also visible in various places.

There are water stains from leaks on the ceiling of the public parking lot in Im-dong, Buk-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City. Although seven hours have passed since it rained that morning, roughly dozens of water stains have appeared on the parking lot ceiling.

The problem is that the amount of rain that fell in Gwangju that day was not that much. The daily accumulated rainfall in the Gwangju area was 32 mm, and the highest hourly rainfall was 15.1 mm, recorded at 9:47 a.m.

It is hard to gauge how much rain this is just by the numbers, but it is easy to understand when compared to the Seoul and Gyeonggi areas, which recently experienced heavy rain for the first time in 115 years.

On the 8th, the amount of rain that fell in Seoul in one day was 381.5 mm in Dongjak-gu, 354.5 mm in Seocho-gu, 342.5 mm in Geumcheon-gu, and 326.5 mm in Gangnam-gu. Between 8 and 9 p.m., the hourly rainfall in the Gangnam area exceeded 110 mm.

Compared to this, the accumulated rainfall of 32 mm and the highest hourly rainfall of 15.1 mm in Gwangju on the 20th cannot be considered a large amount of rain.

Although it has only been three years since completion, and it was not heavy rain, water was dripping from the ceiling, raising suspicions of poor construction along with voices criticizing Gwangju City’s complacent management and supervision.

A, who has worked in the construction industry for over 30 years, said, “It needs to be examined carefully, but if there are water marks on the ceiling and water is dripping, suspicions of poor construction are reasonable,” pointing out, “There seems to be a problem with the drainage work.”

Another construction industry worker, B, also said, “I am cautious because I have not inspected the site precisely, but it is true that there seems to be a problem.”

In response, a Gwangju City official said, “From completion to maintenance and management, we confirmed with each person in charge and on-site and identified the problem,” adding, “We will pay attention to defects and repairs to fundamentally solve the problem.”

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