"Only Two Days After Moving In"... Residents in Shock Over Retaining Wall Collapse at Incheon Apartment

Only Two Days After Move-In Begins... No Casualties Reported
Prospective Residents Raise Concerns Over Poor Construction

Concerns among residents are growing after a retaining wall collapsed at a newly built apartment complex in Incheon, just two days after move-in began.

According to reports from the Incheon Fire Headquarters and Yonhap News on the 7th, a 119 emergency call was received around 3:49 p.m. the previous day reporting that a retaining wall measuring 1 meter in height and 20 meters in length had collapsed at Apartment A in Yonghyeon-dong, Michuhol-gu, Incheon.

On the 6th, a landscaping retaining wall of an apartment in Michuhol-gu, Incheon, collapsed.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

There were no casualties from the incident, but some landscaping facilities and flooring in an adjacent apartment complex were damaged. The fire authorities who responded to the call completed all safety measures at the scene. The retaining wall was constructed by stacking landscaping blocks on the outside and filling the inside with soil.

Apartment A consists of a total of 372 households, with move-in starting on the 4th. Prospective residents of this apartment complex have raised concerns not only about the retaining wall collapse but also about possible poor construction, citing water dripping from the ceilings of the underground parking lot and indoor common facilities. They claim that a preliminary inspection conducted last month on 300 out of all households identified 16,000 defects, but no follow-up actions have been taken yet.

Apartment A consists of a total of 372 households, and move-in began on the 4th. Prospective residents of this apartment are raising concerns about possible poor construction, citing not only the collapse of the retaining wall but also water dripping from the underground parking lot and the ceilings of indoor common facilities.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

A representative from the construction company explained, "Due to heavy rain over the past two days, water accumulated in the soil behind the retaining wall, causing the structure to collapse. It appears that water also pooled in the parking lot and common facilities as rainwater entered these areas."

He added, "We plan to install facilities to drain water externally from the retaining wall to prevent similar incidents from happening again. Regarding the defects residents have pointed out, we will deploy additional personnel and contractors to address them as quickly as possible."

Meanwhile, on the night of the 29th of last month, around 11:30 p.m., the slab of the roof layer in the underground parking lot of an apartment under construction in Geomdan New Town, Incheon, collapsed. Fortunately, no casualties occurred as the collapse happened late at night.

Prospective residents of this apartment have expressed their anxiety and are demanding a complete reconstruction of the apartment structure regardless of the safety inspection results. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and LH plan to halt construction of this apartment and launch an investigation into possible poor construction and design errors related to the accident.

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