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Controversy is brewing because the NC Department Store in Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do continues to operate even after knowing that the ceiling is cracked.

As the criticism grew, the department store announced today (17th) that it would suspend operations indefinitely until the results of the detailed safety diagnosis are released.



Reporter Kim Bo-mi covered the story.



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There is a long crack around the ceiling light on the second floor of the building.



A wooden plank was applied to the gap and an iron support was erected.



It was around 2:00 PM yesterday when a message was posted on the community saying, “The ceiling of the NC Department Store Seongnam Yatap branch started to crack.”



Concerns about "continuing business despite cracks" and "glass falling on the 1st floor" were posted one after another.



However, the department store continued its business until just before 9:00 pm, the closing time, and eventually the police and fire authorities who received the report went on an emergency inspection of the site.



[Department store customer: I was surprised.

It should be closed, but it's still open.

It's dangerous.

The thought of Sampoong (department store) collapsing struck me.]



However, it was found that the department store itself had already discovered cracks before 10:30 am when it opened.



Seongnam City said that as a result of the first inspection, it was confirmed that the bolts connected to the gypsum board were sagging and that there was no problem with the building structure.



Controversy arose that the business continued even after confirming the crack, and the department store announced that it would suspend operations indefinitely until the results of the detailed safety diagnosis came out.



Currently, all stores in the department store are closed with a notice that they will stop operating like this.



[Department store official: It seems that there is a part that did not follow the manual or these things in the beginning and responded poorly.

We apologize once again to our customers...

.]



It is known that the ceiling of the department store collapsed due to water leakage on the 2nd floor like this time in 2018.



(Video coverage: Kim Yong-woo, Video editing: Kim Yoon-seong, Video courtesy: Seongnam City Hall, Gyeonggi Province)