South Korea: “Boneless Condos” Spark Fears of Collapse - Major Korean builders face credibility crisis in wake of accidents

“Boneless Condos” Spark Fears of Collapse

On April 29, the underground parking structure for a new luxury condo under construction in the Geomdan 검단 area of Incheon 인천 collapsed, leaving a crater two stories deep. Nobody was injured in the collapse, which occurred around 11:30 p.m. after the construction crew had left the site. Had the timing been slightly different, the collapse could have been far deadlier: residents were scheduled to move into the development by October, and the collapsed parking structure sat directly beneath a children's playground.

The subsequent investigation led to the shocking revelation that the parking structure had little to no steel rebar reinforcement. Eight of the parking structure’s 32 structural columns remained standing after the collapse, fully half of which had no rebar despite construction blueprints specifically calling for reinforcement. The investigation also found that the concrete used for the column was weak after being improperly cured.

But after the collapse prompted other construction companies to inspect the safety of their own buildings, GS Construction turned out not to be the only company with shoddy construction. The LH Corporation LH공사, a publicly owned company responsible for building subsidized housing, found missing steel beams and weak concrete in 21 of its 92 projects. The soaring cost of raw materials is pushing construction companies to skimp on materials, while a lack of skilled workers has resulted in mishaps like concrete being improperly cured or blueprint instructions being misread.

Major Korean builders face credibility crisis in wake of accidents

Public distrust of domestic builders has been growing recently, as faulty construction methods have caused repeated collapses in apartment construction sites

A government investigation revealed that GS E&C's omission of rebar in multiple pillars was the main reason behind a collapse in an underground parking garage of an apartment complex under construction in Incheon, April 29. HDC Hyundai Development Company has also faced criticism, since it was found that its negligence in safety measures resulted in a collapse at its apartment construction site in Gwangju in January last year, which killed six workers.

To protect their apartment brands, Xi and iPark, both companies decided to tear down and rebuild the entire problematic apartment complexes, despite the significant costs they would have to bear.