“Uh, did you have a concrete sample on the 39th floor?”… Police raids are also ineffective.

The circumstances in which the police investigating the collapse of Hyundai I-Park in Hwajeong-dong, Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, poorly conducted a search and seizure of the HDC Hyundai Industrial Development site, the construction company, were revealed. It was later received from the company after not being able to secure key evidence that would reveal whether concrete curing was poor, one of the causes of collapse, during the search and seizure process.

The Gwangju Police Agency’s investigation headquarters announced on the 19th that it had secured a concrete specimen that had been poured on the 39th floor of Building 201, the starting point of the collapse on the day of the accident (11th). The specimen is a sample made of the same material as the concrete used at the time of pouring for use in the concrete compressive strength test. The construction company stores the specimen under the same conditions in the test room installed at the construction site and the actual pouring section, and then takes it out when dismantling the formwork and scaffolding (scaffolding pole) after pouring, 7 days later, and 28 days later, respectively, and uses it for strength testing.

On the 14th, three days after the accident, the police seized and searched the field offices and secured 27 specimens made at the time of pouring concrete on the 22nd, 37th, and 38th floors. Although the police could not find the specimen made during the pouring of the 39th floor, which was the cause of the collapse, they actually put their hands on it, and only this morning received an arbitrary submission from Hyundai Development Company. Due to the absence of the specimen, it seems that the company submitted the specimen for the 39th floor belatedly to the police when suspicions of poor quality control and inspection between the construction company and the supervisor were raised (the first page of this bulletin on the 19th). It is known that the specimen was stored in a construction site test room, which was included in the search and seizure target of the police. In the specimen, only the date of manufacture was written, and the apartment building was not indicated.

A police official said, “In the process of demolishing the on-site office, Hyundai Development Company discovered and informed us of the remains of the 39th floor. explained Evidence that would illuminate the suspicion of poor curing of the concrete almost disappeared along with the demolished materials.

Although the police managed to secure the specimen produced on the day of the accident after twists and turns, it is pointed out that it is not easy to reveal the suspicion of poor concrete curing with this alone. This is because concrete hardens (hardens) over time due to the nature of concrete, and the specimen was not at the site of actual collapse. Therefore, the police should check whether there are specimens through a live investigation on the 39th floor, the site of the accident, and collect concrete samples, but this is also put aside. The police said, “We are unable to access the site due to safety issues,” but critics are criticizing that this is only a poor excuse since on-site inspections by officials from the Integrated Countermeasures Headquarters for the accident were conducted on the same day as on the 17th.

On the same day, the police seized and searched the construction headquarters of Hyundai Industrial Development Headquarters in Yongsan-gu, Seoul together with the Ministry of Employment and Labor to find out the cause of the collapse and who was responsible, and secured documents related to construction, structural calculation, supervision, and safety management. In addition, the Seo-gu Office in Gwangju was also seized and searched to examine the approval of the housing construction project plan and the handling of complaints from nearby residents.

Gwangju = Ahn Kyung-ho reporter khan@hankookilbo.com

Gwangju = Najuye reporter juye@hankookilbo.com