Yesterday (16th) at 8:44 pm, a report was received that a crack had occurred on the ceiling of the second floor of the NC Department Store Yatap Branch in Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do.



The fire department was dispatched to the scene after receiving a report from the Bundang-gu Office that a complaint had occurred in this regard.



There were no casualties due to ceiling cracks.



As a result of inspections by the fire department, the police, and the district office, it was found that cracks had occurred in the ceiling gypsum boards of several floors due to the aging of the building.



A police official said, "The fire department and the Bundang-gu Office came to the scene to tear open the ceiling and investigate the safety of the building in detail, and the result came out that there was nothing wrong."



However, although the report was received shortly before the end of business, the department store continued its business without taking any action, and it was found that there was no evacuation of visitors.



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According to the NC Department Store, it is said that the store will be closed at 9:00 pm, the usual closing time, and the ceiling reinforcement work will be carried out during the night.



Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong said on his SNS, "I received an urgent report related to the department store."



Minister Won pointed out, "Until it is confirmed that it is safe, we must first stop business and control access, but continuing business in that state is evidence that insensitivity to safety is still prevalent in our society."



In addition, he said, "In the past, even though Sampoong Department Store had signs, it ignored it and operated excessively, leading to a major accident." "In regards to safety, you should not be vigilant and allow even a small gap. It is better to overreact. First of all, I spoke with Seongnam Mayor Shin Sang-jin. "I urged you to take the necessary action immediately," he said.



In the department store, in July 2018, there was an accident in which the plaster ceiling (6㎡) of a clothing store on the second floor collapsed, and there were no customers in the store at the time, so it was reported that no casualties occurred.