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Nearby merchants who have been closely observing the construction site have raised their voices that the ward office did not take proper action, although they complained several times about the dangerous situation at the site. The city of Gwangju has embarked on a major audit. 



Correspondent Choi Seong-gil.



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Merchants near the apartment construction site where the collapse occurred, said that they raised problems with the ward office about the situation of poor construction throughout the construction period.



Concrete was poured even on cold or rainy days, and when digging, a nearby shopping mall reported that the water was so full that the ankles were submerged, but the ward office only replied that there was no problem.



[Damage Merchant: The grounding phenomenon has occurred with the naked eye. I should have taken some action, but I didn't take any... .]



At the end of last year, concrete rubble fell from the apartment and protested, residents said, but no action was taken.



[Damaged Merchant: (When I raised the problem) I said 'This can never happen', and when a stone falls, 'This cannot technically fall'... .]



A total of 386 complaints were filed officially by nearby merchants and residents.



The competent ward office explained that all complaints were dealt with according to the procedure.



[Gwangju City Seo-gu official: Even if we receive a complaint over the phone, it is the contents that we went out and took action.]



Amid the conflicting claims of both sides, the city of Gwangju started an audit of the ward office for two weeks from today (14th).



[Gwangju City Official: A civil complaint has occurred with the permit holder, and let's take a look at whether there are any complaints that our officials really ignored in the complaint handling process...

.]



Investigations to determine the cause of the accident are also accelerating.



The police, who had raided three subcontractors yesterday, seized and searched three places including the Hyundai Industrial Development Corporation field office, supervisory office, and subcontractors.



(Video coverage: Munsan Bae, Video editing: Tae-ho Yoon)



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