Four construction officials found at fault for shoddy work and lax supervision in the collapse at Gwangju Representative Library that killed four workers were arrested six months after the accident.
Choi Yun-young, the Gwangju District Court's warrant judge Director General, on the 12th issued pretrial arrest warrants for four officials tied to the Gwangju Representative Library project on suspicion of occupational negligence resulting in death and violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. After holding warrant hearings the previous day, the judge determined that detention was necessary.
Those arrested are four people: the on-site manager of the construction contractor, the CEO and on-site manager of a subcontractor, and the head supervisor. They are accused of failing to carry out basic measures such as construction according to the structural design and safety management, causing the accident that killed four workers.
Arrest warrants were denied for seven others, including a construction contractor official and on-site welders, who also underwent warrant hearings. Police and labor authorities said much of the suspicion had been substantiated and viewed it as a serious matter requiring prevention of similar accidents, and therefore sought their arrest warrants.
The Gwangju Representative Library collapse occurred at about 1:58 p.m. on Dec. 11 last year at the construction site in Chipyeong-dong, Seo District, Gwangju. During rooftop concrete pouring, a steel structure collapsed, burying four people—including construction workers and employees of a supplier of government-procured materials—under the debris, killing them at the scene.
A professional institution's investigation identified poor welding at steel structure joints and inadequate quality control as major causes of the accident. The National Disaster Management Institute under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety said the strength of the welds fell far short of design standards and found construction defects such as insufficient welding at some joints.
The use of unqualified welders and lax supervision were also cited as problems. The construction contractor and supervisor failed to properly check for poor welding or conduct a full inspection, and in some processes, a subcontractor again passed the work on, raising suspicions of illegal re-subcontracting that reportedly became those surveyed.
Police have been investigating the construction contractor, subcontractors, the supervising firm, and the client agency officials since immediately after the accident. Around 40 suspects have been booked so far, and four civil servants affiliated with the Gwangju City General Construction Headquarters, the client agency, are also said to be included.
The Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency's Major Crime Investigation Unit is examining not only the direct cause of the collapse but also whether there were structural problems such as bid irregularities and multi-tier subcontracting. Police plan to review whether to take additional legal action based on collected materials, forensic findings, and related statements.