"Emergency Inspection of Over 250,000 Private Apartments with Muryangpan Structure by the End of September"

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Investigates 293 Private Complexes with Precast Concrete Structures
Integrated Underground Parking and Residential Buildings... Construction Companies Bear Responsibility
Plan to Announce 'Construction Interest Cartel Reform Measures' in October

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 3rd that it will conduct a full investigation into the safety and potential involvement of interest cartels in 293 private apartment complexes where flat slab structures have been applied.

Kim Oh-jin, the 1st Vice Minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, is briefing on the investigation plan for the flat slab structure of private apartments at the Government Sejong Complex in Sejong City on the afternoon of the 3rd.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Kim Oh-jin, the first vice minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, held a briefing on the "Apartment Safety Inspection Plan" at the Government Sejong Complex on the same day, stating, "We will prioritize public safety above all else, eradicate the habitual safety negligence, and use this as an opportunity to restore public trust." He added, "By the end of September, we will conduct an urgent safety inspection of 293 private apartment complexes with flat slab structures, covering approximately 250,000 households."

Following this, the ministry plans to compile the results of investigations into 15 sites of the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) where poor construction was confirmed, as well as 83 sites constructed by GS Construction, whose results are scheduled to be announced later this month, and prepare fundamental measures to prevent recurrence by October.

The inspections will begin next week. The targets include 188 apartment complexes completed since 2017 and 105 sites currently under construction. These correspond to approximately 150,000 households and 100,000 households, respectively. Among the 105 sites under construction, 21 complexes have applied flat slab structures to both underground parking lots and residential buildings. The remaining are 25 complexes with flat slab structures only in residential buildings and 59 only in underground parking lots. Among the completed complexes, 10 have applied flat slab structures to both underground parking lots and residential buildings. Single applications include 49 residential buildings and 125 underground parking lots.

The investigation method involves using designated safety diagnosis specialized institutions for sites under construction, and private safety specialized institutions for completed complexes. The inspection costs are principally borne by the construction companies, and the results are verified by the Korea Land and Housing Safety Management Institute.

If repairs or reinforcements are necessary after the inspection, the construction companies will also be responsible for the costs. Regarding this, Kim Hyo-jin, the housing policy officer at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, "The costs will initially be borne by the construction companies, but if the causes of defects such as structural or design issues become clear later, it will be possible to claim compensation from the responsible companies."

He added, "Although the goal is to complete inspections by the end of September, it may take more time for residential buildings because resident consent is required to enter individual households."

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans to take measures such as business suspension and penalties against constructors and supervisors found to have violated responsibilities according to relevant laws. It also emphasized that, based on the investigation results, it will consider expanding the investigation targets to complexes completed before 2017 if necessary.

A tent has been installed in the underground parking lot of Chorongkkot Village Complex 3 in Paju City, Gyeonggi Province (Paju Unjeong A34) for reinforcement work. / Photo by Yonhap News

Additionally, among the 15 LH complexes where defects were found, six sites under construction plan to complete reinforcement work within this month, and nine completed complexes plan to finish by next month. The ministry also pledged efforts to expedite the passage of safety-related legislation, including the "Five Major Bills for Normalizing Construction Sites," which the ruling party and government are currently promoting.

Vice Minister Kim said, "Flat slab structures, where safety issues continue to occur, will be included as special structural buildings to ensure safety design and special inspections are conducted," and added, "The government will no longer tolerate any systems, practices, or interest cartels that threaten public safety."

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