The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said on the 16th it will form a construction accident investigation committee to determine the cause of the collapse at the Gwangju Metropolitan Library construction site on the 11th that left four people dead and to prevent similar accidents from recurring.
This investigation committee will be composed of 12 external experts from industry, academia and research who have no conflict of interest with this accident, including Kyonggi University Professor Choi Byung-jung, an expert in steel structures and architectural structures, as Chairperson. The operating period is four months from Dec. 16. It may be extended if necessary depending on the progress of the accident investigation.
The investigation committee will hold a kickoff meeting near the accident site in Gwangju in the afternoon and begin a full-fledged investigation.
In the course of the investigation, the committee will review: ◇ the adequacy of prior procedures such as the safety management plan, construction plan and construction specifications; ◇ the adequacy of drafting and reviewing design documents, including structural review and design safety review; ◇ the adequacy of quality and safety management during construction processes such as PC composite beams, steel frames and deck plates (patented method), poor construction at column joints, and concrete pouring; ◇ whether each project entity, including the ordering agency, the constructor and the supervisor, fulfilled its obligations; and ◇ subcontractor selection and management and any construction delays. It also plans to prepare measures to prevent a recurrence to avert similar accidents.