116 Dead from Saving Rebar... Taiwan's 'Tofu Building' Incident Revisited

16-Story Building Collapsed in 2016 Earthquake
Styrofoam and Cooking Oil Pipes Used Instead of Rebar in Columns

As it was revealed that rebar was missing in 15 apartment complexes commissioned by Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), netizens are revisiting the past Taiwan "Tofu Building" incident. The controversial Tofu Building at the time was also a poorly constructed building that used cheaper substitutes instead of rebar.

The Tofu Building incident occurred on February 6, 2016, when a magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck southern Taiwan, causing the 16-17 story Weiguan Jinlong Building to collapse, resulting in the deaths of 116 people.

Local media described the situation as "collapsing like tofu breaking," which led to the building being nicknamed the "Tofu Building" and the construction method called "Tofu Construction."

Investigations by local authorities found that inside the walls of the building, where rebar should have been, large amounts of cooking oil containers and styrofoam were discovered. Some building columns even contained styrofoam at their cores, and the surrounding rebar was thinner than the standard requirement. This inevitably sparked controversy over poor construction practices.

The so-called 'Tofu Building' Weiguan Jinlong Building, which collapsed due to the 2016 Taiwan earthquake.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

At the time, a nearby real estate agent told the media, "The construction company faced a financial crisis while the building was under construction, and the building was barely completed." It is believed that cheaper substitutes were used instead of rebar to save money.

Survivors of the tragedy expressed their frustration, saying, "Every time there was an earthquake, cracks appeared in the building walls and tiles fell off, and residents protested."

Meanwhile, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, rebar was found to be missing in 15 out of 91 apartment complexes commissioned by LH. Among these, five complexes have already been occupied.

This building was also found to have missing rebar or to fall below the standard level, causing controversy over poor construction.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The apartments missing rebar are known to have adopted a flat slab structure. A flat slab is a construction method where the roof is placed directly on columns without beams, offering advantages such as higher floor height and reduced construction cost and time. However, since pressure concentrates at the points where columns meet the slab, shear layers that act as buffers must be installed, and reinforcing rebar must be properly constructed.

If rebar is not properly installed, the structure can become unstable. In the case of Yangju Hoecheon, one of the buildings missing rebar, it was confirmed that all 154 columns (100%) lacked rebar despite being built with a flat slab structure, which has heightened residents' anxiety.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is conducting a full investigation into the presence of missing rebar in apartments using flat slab structures. Since 2017, a total of 293 private apartment complexes nationwide have introduced flat slab structures in their underground parking lots, and it is expected to take more than three months to complete the investigation of all these sites.

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