Hyeonsan officials, who were designated as responsible for the Hwajeong I-Park collapse accident at HDC Hyundai Industrial Development in Gwangju, were reported to have denied most of the charges in the investigation yesterday (26th).
According to the investigation headquarters for the collapse of a new apartment building in Seo-gu, Gwangju today (Gwangju Police Agency), the police conducted an investigation into three people in Hyeonsan until late yesterday.
The three investigation subjects are those in charge of specific areas, and the police seem to have focused on whether or not Hyeonsan was involved in the major negligence that was presumed to have caused the collapse.
It is said that most of the cases in the prefecture have denied the negligence of the original agency, with the intention that "it was done arbitrarily by the subcontractor."
So far, the Investigation Headquarters has booked a total of 11 people on charges of negligence and violation of the building law.
The remaining cases include one subcontractor's on-site manager, three supervisors, and one subcontractor's representative on charges of breach of contract.
In particular, as major factors in the collapse accident include ▲ no installation of the lower ridge and ▲ unauthorized installation of a reverse beam ('┴'-shaped water wall), attention is being paid to whether or not the original government intervened in unauthorized construction and poor construction.
Officials from the subcontractors of the reinforced concrete construction said, "The removal of Dongbari was ordered by Hyeonsan" and "The installation of the station was in consultation with Hyeonsan," the investigation headquarters said.
In this situation, the main investigation task was to prove the negligence of the Hyeonsan side by continuing the statement that the subcontractors were held liable without acknowledging their connection to the main negligence.
The Investigation Headquarters continues the investigation to identify the responsible person today, including summoning two additional supervisors for investigation.
Separately, the Gwangju Office of Anti-Corruption and Economic Crime Investigation Team (affiliated with the Investigation Headquarters) is conducting a full-scale investigation into allegations of illegal subcontracting.
Following yesterday's summons and investigation of formwork participants, today, we plan to summon and investigate the representative of a reinforced concrete subcontractor to intensively examine the subcontracting relationship.
Reinforced concrete work related to the site of the collapse was subcontracted by Company A, but the work such as pouring concrete was found to have been done by employees of a pump car equipment rental company that signed a labor contract and entered the site, raising suspicions of illegal subcontracting.
An official from the investigation headquarters said, "The denial of the charges by the Hyeonsan officials was to some extent expected.
(Photo = Yonhap News)