Owners of Hwajeong IPark Apartments in Gwangju, "Tear Down IPark Complex 1 and 2 and Rebuild the Buildings"

[경향신문]

On the afternoon of January 17--day seven since the outer wall collapsed in an apartment construction site in Gwangju--near the accident site, the head of a group representing the apartment owners of Hwajeong IPark reads a statement condemning Chung Mong-gyu’s decision to step down as chairman without taking responsibility for the accident. Yonhap News

People planning to live in the Hwajeong IPark apartments in Seo-gu, Gwangju are calling for HDC Hyundai Development to tear down all the buildings that have been constructed so far.

On January 17, a group representing the owners of Hwajeong IPark apartments held a press conference in front of the site where the accident occurred and demanded that the company “tear down Hwajeong IPark complexes one and two and rebuild the buildings.”

They pointed out, “Due to the shocking faulty construction by HDC Hyundai Development, another unbelievable disaster happened following the disaster in Hak-dong last year.” They further said, “Immediately after the accident, HDC Hyundai Development released an explanation evading responsibility by claiming that the company never pressed the workers to meet the construction deadline and quickly hired Kim & Chang, the nation’s largest law firm.” They argued, “Chung Mong-gyu, the chairman of HDC said he would take full responsibility and resign, but that was only to avoid responsibility.”

The group of apartment-owner representatives are asking the company to take full responsibility for the latest accident and remove all buildings in the Hwajeong IPark complex one and two and rebuild the apartments instead of conducting a safety inspection. They said, “The company should establish a safety management plan in all stages, including planning, construction and supervision, and thoroughly implement the plan to prevent such accidents from happening again.”

They also asked the company to quickly rescue the five workers still missing inside the building and provide their families with adequate compensation.

Yi Seung-yeop, the representative of the homeowners group met with the representative of the missing workers’ families after the press conference and said, “We can discuss the issue of compensation later. Right now, if there is anything we can do to help the families, we will help,” and added, “I’m sorry (that we had to hold such a press conference). We wish the missing workers can be rescued as soon as possible.”