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Authorities raid construction firms over Gyeonggi bridge collapse

Published: 28 Feb. 2025, 13:38

LIM JEONG-WON
[email protected]

Authorities examine an expressway construction site in Anseong on Feb. 26, a day after an accident left four people dead and six injured. [YONHAP]

Authorities investigating Tuesday's fatal collapse of a bridge structure at an expressway construction site in Gyeonggi raided the offices of several entities related to the project on Friday.

The Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency's investigation team conducted simultaneous raids on Hyundai Engineering, the project's orderer, the Korea Expressway Corporation, and subcontractors Jangheon Industry and Kangsan Development.

This is the first time that raids have been conducted in relation to the investigation into the collapse, coming three days after the accident that resulted in 10 casualties.

A total of seven locations were raided — Hyundai Engineering's Seoul headquarters, the Korea Expressway Corporation's Gyeongbuk Gimcheon headquarters, Jangheon Industry's Chungnam Dangjin headquarters, the on-site offices of these companies and Kangsan Development's on-site office.

Seventy-five people — including 43 police investigators and 32 Ministry of Employment and Labor supervisors — participated in the raids.

The police and the Labor Ministry plan to secure documents related to construction plans and procedures, electronic information and electronic devices such as the mobile phones of those subject to the investigation.

Based on the seized data, they plan to investigate whether the construction was carried out according to the original plan and established procedures and whether all safety regulations were followed to determine the cause of the accident.

The accident occurred when a bridge girder suddenly collapsed as it was placed on a pier using a launcher, a specialized crane used in bridge construction.

The accident resulted in 10 workers falling and becoming buried underneath. Four died, and six were injured.

In addition, police have filed a criminal case against one person from Jangheon Industries on charges of negligent homicide, a procedural move to obtain the raid warrant.

Police expect to question more people as their investigation progresses.

In addition, the police, the National Institute of Scientific Investigation and the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency conducted a joint investigation at the accident site on Friday.

A total of 42 officials from six related organizations participated in the investigation, with the authorities examining the accident site and collecting debris necessary to determine the cause of the accident.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [[email protected]]