Muan-gun, Controversy Over 'Approval Without Measures' for Apartment Construction in Disaster Risk Zones

2018 Re-designated as Hazard Level 'Ga' → 2019 Apartment Construction Permit

Evaluation Committee at the Time: "Measures Must Be Established"... County Relied Only on Contractor's Own Results

Residents: "Absurd"... County: "Will Review Construction and Completion Process Even Now"

It has been revealed that Muan-gun, Jeollanam-do, granted permission for the construction of an apartment in Muan-eup solely based on the construction company's geological survey report, sparking controversy. Due to the complete lack of supervision by the county, the apartment was completed in an area overlapping with a disaster risk zone, and residents have lived for over a year without any knowledge of the danger.

According to Muan-gun on the 16th, the county confirmed that part of the site of Apartment A in Muan-eup, where move-in began in 2022, overlaps with a disaster risk zone (collapse risk zone), and recently installed a warning sign, which was removed after a few days.

Muan-gun, Jeollanam-do installed a hazard warning sign indicating that part of an apartment site in Muan-eup is a disaster risk zone, but removed it after a few days.

Residents have reportedly lived in danger for more than a year.

In March 2018, Muan-gun designated an area of about 50,000㎡ around Seongnam-ri, Muan-eup, as a natural disaster risk improvement zone (collapse risk zone) with a ‘Grade A’ classification.

However, just a year later, in May 2019, permission was granted to build apartments on a site partially included in the disaster risk zone.

Muan-gun has been criticized for approving the use of the apartment without conducting the crucial disaster impact assessment required for construction and completion permits within the disaster risk zone, and without lifting the disaster risk zone designation.

It is also problematic that Muan-gun proceeded with only the commencement and completion inspections of the apartment construction based solely on the company’s data, without any supervision of the disaster impact assessment.

The disaster impact assessment committee for the apartment was composed of county office employees, and reviewing the minutes obtained by Asia Economy from the time shows opinions that the area required additional measures.

One committee member evaluated, “Due to concerns about ground subsidence caused by ground voids, preemptive countermeasures based on the ground survey results should be established and implemented.” Another member stated, “Since the project area has subsided and was designated as a natural disaster risk zone, excessive ground excavation or water leakage should be prevented.”

The county sent these opinions to the construction company, and after receiving the company’s response that their own geological safety diagnosis found no issues, the project proceeded as planned. This point raises controversy over the county’s lack of supervision.

To this day, the area remains a risk zone due to expected property and human damage from ground collapse and subsidence caused by limestone voids.

Moreover, the county’s explanation that the installation of the warning sign only occurred five years after the disaster risk zone designation and one year after residents moved in, attributing it to a simple mistake and saying they “forgot,” has further fueled the controversy.

Residents expressed frustration, saying, “Muan-gun, which should protect residents’ safety, relied solely on the geological and ground survey report from the construction company claiming safety and never supervised the crucial disaster impact assessment. Since the warning sign was installed, we have been anxious about the collapse risk. The fact that the assessment committee was composed only of county officials raises suspicions that they might be colluding with the company.”

In response, a Muan-gun official admitted, “It was a mistake not to supervise the disaster impact assessment,” and added, “We will now review the construction and completion permits related to the disaster impact assessment and impose administrative fines on the construction company.”

Muan = Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Oh Hwan-joo just8440@asiae.co.kr

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