Prosecutors demand up to 10 yrs imprisonment for officials over Gwangju apartment collapse

GWANGJU -- Prosecutors on Monday demanded prison terms of up to 10 years for company officials accused of involvement in the deadly collapse of an apartment building in Gwangju in 2022.

The collapse of the 39-story apartment building under construction left six workers dead and one injured in January 2022. An investigation found that deck plates and concrete supports affecting the building's bearing capacity had been installed without a structural review.

During the final hearing at Gwangju District Court, some 270 kilometers south of Seoul, prosecutors demanded prison terms of between five and 10 years, or a two-year prison term without labor, for 10 officials of HDC Hyundai Development Co., which was responsible for the project.

Specifically, they asked the court for a 10-year prison term for HDC's on-site manager and a seven-year sentence for the company's then president.

The prosecution also sought prison sentences of five to 10 years for four officials of a subcontractor, and eight-year sentences for three officials of a construction inspection company.

"This was a man-made disaster caused by general poor construction that failed to follow the basics of the roles of constructor, subcontractor and inspection company, and due to the absence of safety control supervision," the prosecution said.