Material Supply Glitch
The collapse of an underground parking lot at a new apartment building that GS Engineering & Construction(GS E&C) is building in Incheon on April 29 was found to be caused by using fewer materials than required by the design.
No one was killed due to the accident but the accident brought down 970-square-meter parts of the roof structures on the first and second floors of the underground parking lot. GS E&C’s own investigation found that 30 sections of rebar were missing at spots where they should have been, according to a news report by MBC TV on May 9. Also, shear reinforcements connecting the upper and lower reinforcing bars were missing at more than 700 spots on the roof level of the parking lot.
“As the builder of the apartment building, we acknowledge our responsibility and sincerely apologize,” a GS E&C representative said. “We will immediately inform the Accident Investigation Committee, cooperate transparently in future investigations and take all necessary measures to ensure the safety of the apartment building.” However, the contractor denied intentionality, saying, “We looked into this case and found that the accident was due to simple negligence, and the cost reduction was around 10 million won only.”
GS E&C has decided to conduct detailed safety inspections of its 83 apartment construction sites all over the country, regarding the incident as a wake-up call.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport also set up an Accident Investigation Committee to find the cause of the accident and said it will transparently disclose any information that it finds once the investigation is wrapped up.