Gwangju Police Conclude Investigation into 'Hakdong Disaster'... 35 Referred to Prosecution

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] The Gwangju Police Agency has concluded its investigation related to the 'Hakdong Collapse Accident.'

The Gwangju Police Agency announced on the 27th that after about 500 days of investigation, a total of 35 people were sent to prosecution, including 9 detained and 26 not detained.

Regarding the demolition work, which was the cause of the collapse, 9 people (5 detained) involved in the primary contractor, subcontractor, and sub-subcontractor relationships were handed over to the prosecution on charges of professional negligence causing death and injury.

Among them were responsible persons such as the site manager, public affairs manager, and safety manager of HDC Hyundai Development Company, the overall contractor of the redevelopment project, who recently received sentences ranging from 1 year imprisonment to 2 years imprisonment with 2 to 3 years probation from the court and have appealed.

Five brokers, including Moon Heung-sik (61), former chairman of the May 18th Detained and Injured Association, who received several hundred million won in bribes by intervening in the selection of construction companies (4 detained), were sent on charges of violating the Attorney-at-law Act.

Structural illegal activities throughout the redevelopment project, such as bid rigging and collusion among subcontractors, inflating construction costs, and breach of trust by specialized maintenance companies, were also thoroughly investigated, resulting in dozens being sent to prosecution.

The Gwangju Police Agency stated, "We will strengthen intelligence gathering on corruption related to redevelopment projects throughout Gwangju and strictly investigate corruption cases."

Meanwhile, on June 9th last year, around 4:22 p.m., a five-story building collapsed at the demolition site of the Hakdong 4 District redevelopment project in Dong-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, covering a bus stop, resulting in 9 deaths and 8 injuries.

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