It has been confirmed that the concrete pouring work of the collapsed Gwangju new apartment was made in the form of expedient subcontracting.



The collapse of Hwajeong I-Park in Gwangju occurred at around 3:46 pm on the 11th while concrete was being poured on the 39th floor, the top floor.



Company A, a professional construction company, signed a contract with HDC Hyundai Development Company for concrete pouring. At the time of the collapse, 8 workers were pouring, but it was confirmed that they were all employees of Company B, an equipment rental company, not Company A.



Company B is a company equipped with equipment (pump car) that raises concrete brought in with ready-mixed concrete to a high floor, and has signed a rental agreement to lend equipment to Company A.



In principle, if Company B uses equipment to move concrete to a high floor, then Company A, who has signed a framing contract, has to do the pouring directly with expertise.



However, as the transport of concrete and pouring of concrete were entrusted to Company B as a whole, the employees of Company B performed the so-called 'proxy construction'.



Although it is not an illegal subcontract in terms of legal relations, in reality, it represents the typical subcontracting structure that goes from primary subcontracting to subcontracting to subcontracting.



It is considered the root cause of poor construction and the practice of subcontracting is strictly prohibited by law, but officials say that this behavior has been practiced in the construction industry.



An official from the construction industry pointed out, "This practice of using pump cars by supplying manpower for pouring jobs is prevalent."



He explained, "It is not uncommon for a pouring company to set a unit price per square meter from the beginning and entrust it to a pump car company, and it is not uncommon for a pump car company to hire a person to do pouring. He added, "The company that constructed the accident site on behalf of the company is famous for its low cost, mainly employing foreigners."



Professor Choi Myung-ki of Korea Industrial Field Professor explained, "Even if Company A leased the necessary materials, it is clear that it was illegal subcontracting that it entrusted the pouring work to the rental company as well."



The police, who have already seized and searched the company, plan to investigate whether there is illegal subcontracting through statements of officials and analysis of confiscated items.



(Photo = Yonhap News)