'Rebar Omission' Confirmed in Gajeong-dong Rental Apartments Following Geomdan... Incheon City Council Conducts On-Site Investigation

Following the discovery of 'missing rebar' in Geomdan, Seo-gu, Incheon, the same issue has been confirmed at a rental apartment in Gajeong-dong, prompting the Incheon City Council to conduct an on-site investigation and devise countermeasures for the affected apartment.

On the 2nd, the Construction and Transportation Committee of the Incheon City Council announced plans to visit the construction site of a 510-unit rental apartment commissioned by the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) and currently being built in Gajeong-dong, Seo-gu, on the 7th to carry out an investigation and comprehensive inspection.

Earlier, LH announced that after conducting a full inspection of LH-commissioned apartments using the flat slab structure, like the newly built apartment in Geomdan, Seo-gu, Incheon, where an underground parking lot collapse occurred in April, missing rebar was found in the underground parking lots of 15 complexes nationwide, including the rental apartment in Gajeong-dong.

The flat slab structure lacks beams connecting the underground columns that form the foundation of the apartment, so the columns require reinforced rebar accordingly. However, these 15 complexes were found not to have used this rebar. The flat slab structure was also adopted in the Sampoong Department Store collapse in 1995 and the Gwangju Hwajeong Apartments in 2022.

In April, a Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport accident investigator is conducting an on-site inspection at a new apartment construction site in Geomdan New Town, Seo-gu, Incheon, where an underground parking lot collapse accident occurred. [Image source=Yonhap News]

A representative from the City Council’s Construction and Transportation Committee stated, "We have completed consultations with the contractor to visit the construction site of the apartment with the missing rebar issue, and we will devise measures to protect citizens’ property rights and safety." Some members of the Incheon City Council have also expressed opinions that the scope of the investigation should be expanded considering the seriousness of the situation.

City Councilor Kim Jong-bae said, "It is difficult to trust LH’s self-inspections," and argued, "The city should form an expert group to verify the safety of all apartments constructed or under construction by LH in Incheon over the past three years." It has been identified that LH apartments were occupied in Yeongjongdo, Jung-gu in 2020 and Songnim-dong, Dong-gu in 2021 in Incheon.

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