The main responsible parties for the Gwangju Hakdong demolition building collapse, which resulted in 17 casualties, received suspended prison sentences from the Supreme Court. This comes 4 years and 2 months after the incident occurred in June 2021.
On the 14th, the Supreme Court's First Division (Chief Justice Ma Yong-ju) upheld the original ruling of a 2-year prison sentence suspended for 3 years and a fine of 5 million won for Mr. A, the site manager of HDC Hyundai Development Company, who was indicted on charges of negligent manslaughter and other offenses. HDC Hyundai Development Company is the primary contractor for the redevelopment project in the Gwangju Hakdong Area 4 where the incident occurred.
Mr. B, head of safety at Hyundai Development Company, and Mr. C, head of public affairs, were sentenced to 1 year in prison, suspended for 2 years, by the original ruling, which the Supreme Court confirmed.
Officials from subcontractors who directly supervised the demolition site received confirmed prison sentences. The Supreme Court upheld the original ruling that sentenced Mr. D, the site manager of the subcontractor Hansol Company, to 2 years in prison, and Mr. E, the representative of the subcontractor Baeksul Construction, to 2 years and 6 months in prison.
They are charged with causing the collapse of a 5-story building that was being demolished due to negligence in safety management and supervision at the redevelopment construction site in Gwangju Dong-gu Hakdong Area 4 on June 9, 2021, resulting in 17 casualties.
On this day, the Supreme Court dismissed both the prosecution and defendant's appeals, confirming the original ruling and stating, "There was no misunderstanding in the legal principles regarding the establishment of negligent manslaughter in the original judgment."
The Supreme Court stated, "When workers from subcontractors work at business sites operated by the primary contractor, the primary contractor is also obligated to take safety and health measures in accordance with the Industrial Safety and Health Act." This is the first ruling that specifies the obligation of the primary contractor to take safety and health measures under the Industrial Safety and Health Act.
However, the Supreme Court noted, "It is not the obligation of the primary contractor to instruct individual work behaviors of subcontractor workers, such as wearing safety helmets," adding, "This is something that the subcontractor must directly manage on-site."
Meanwhile, the Gwangju Hakdong incident occurred on June 9, 2021, when a 5-story above-ground and 1-story underground building that was being demolished collapsed and fell onto a city bus stopped at a bus stop. As a result of the incident, 9 people died and 8 were injured.