"Leave Gwangju." Gwangju Is Angry at Hyundai (HDC), "A Truly Bad Company"

[경향신문]

- On January 13, the third day since the outer wall of a multi-purpose apartment building in the Hwajeong IPark complex in Seo-gu, Gwangju collapsed, rescue workers and search dogs continue to search for missing workers. Around 11:14 this morning, they discovered one worker in B1 of the building. Han Su-bin

“How can a large construction company, a leading corporation in this nation, repeat such substandard disasters twice in Gwangju? It’s shameful and devastating.” “Hyundai Development Company should do its part to be accountable for the criminal actions and leave Gwangju.”

Gwangju is raging with voices condemning Hyundai Development Company (HDC) after the outer wall of an apartment building under construction collapsed in the Hwajeong IPark complex. The citizens found it hard to believe that two major accidents occurred seven months apart at the construction sites overseen by HDC, a leading construction company in Korea that ranked ninth in the construction capability assessment of construction companies in 2021. On January 13, citizens all over Gwangju talked about Hyundai.

On January 11, the external wall from the 23rd to 38th floor of a 39-story apartment building collapsed in the Hwajeong IPark construction site in Seo-gu, Gwangju. Hyundai Development Company was in charge of the construction. Communication with six workers were severed following the accident, and rescuers discovered one of them this day. Last June, a 5-story building that was being removed collapsed toward the adjacent street, covering a city bus. Nine lives were lost and eight were injured. This happened in Zone 4 of the housing redevelopment project in Hak-dong, Dong-gu. The construction company in charge was also HDC.

Yu (52) said, “I thought it was a good construction company building apartments well-known for the expensive brand, but I had no idea they were so sloppy with the construction,” and added, “I’ll never live in an apartment built by that company.”

The redevelopment project of Unam Complex 3 in Buk-gu, Gwangju, where Hyundai Development Company is one of the construction companies building 3,214 apartments, is considering terminating the contract. This day, a representative of the union overseeing the redevelopment project of Unam Complex 3 said, “After the accident, we’re getting a lot of calls from our union members who claim they can’t live because they’re so worried and they think we should exclude HDC.” He further said, “If enough union members agree, then the union should follow, shouldn’t we?”

The city of Gwangju is also taking various measures against the major construction company. This day, the Gwangju metropolitan government continued to release hardline policies practically “ousting” Hyundai Development Company from the public sector.

The city is currently reviewing legal details on excluding Hyundai Development Company, responsible for major accidents, from taking part in various projects promoted by the city. Lee Sang-bae, director of urban regeneration at the Gwangju metropolitan government explained, “We are reviewing demerits for companies responsible for major accidents, when selecting our preferred negotiation partner in city projects open to the private sector.”

Lee Yong-seop, the mayor of Gwangju wrote on Facebook, “Hyundai Development Company is a truly bad company to our citizens,” and expressed his discontent at the company’s reaction saying, “The CEO arrived in Gwangju nearly at midnight on the day of the accident and presented a one-page apology and that was all.” The Gwangju metropolitan government released an order, suspending construction in three HDC construction sites on January 12. This day, the city claimed, “We cannot trust the safety of the sites where construction is underway by HDC,” and ordered five gu (district) offices to conduct safety assessments on the buildings.

A group of forty civic groups in the Gwangju area that came together in response to the Hak-dong accident demanded Hyundai Development Company to “leave Gwangju.” These groups released a joint statement and announced, “Gwangju citizens no longer want to be the victims of illegal actions and corruption by Hyundai Development Company,” and added that the company should “do its part to be accountable for the criminal actions and leave Gwangju.”

On January 12, the families of the Hak-dong victims visited the Hwajeong IPark site where the apartment wall collapsed and said, “At the time of the Hak-dong disaster, we asked that all construction by HDC be suspended, but that action was taken only now.” They further pointed out, “The law in our country seems to be the law of the wealthy. Accidents like this are bound to continue unless we change the law.”