<Anchor>



Yesterday (16th), local residents reported that the ceiling of a department store in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province had cracks.

It was said that there was nothing wrong with the safety of the building, but the department store said it would close until safety is guaranteed.



This is Reporter Sohn Ki-jun.



<Reporter>



There is a long crack in the ceiling of the department store.



A wooden plank was applied to the cracked area and a support was installed.



At around 8:50 last night, a report was received by the police that a crack had occurred on the ceiling of the Yatap branch of the NC department store.



The crack was confirmed around 2:00 pm, but the department store closed at 9:00 pm, the original closing time, and began repair work.



[Department store official: First of all, we are supporting something else to repair the top of the building, and we closed the store and sent all the customers out...

.]



Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong, who was briefed on the situation, pointed out that business should be suspended and access controlled until it is confirmed that it is safe, as evidence of widespread insensitivity to safety.



A police official said, "The building is old and cracks have occurred in the ceiling gypsum board."



The department store side announced that it had decided to close the entire building until safety was confirmed belatedly.



Regarding the controversial point of continuing business even with cracks in the ceiling, it was reported that there was a manual that said business would be suspended when safety problems occurred, but there was a problem because it did not operate properly.



It is known that the department store plans to conduct detailed safety inspections with the fire department and private safety inspection companies.