Sampoong Department Store collapse
 |
|
| Time | 5:52 p.m. KST |
|---|---|
| Date | June 29, 1995 |
| Location | Seoul, South Korea |
| Cause | Structural Overload, Punching Shear |
| Deaths | 502 |
| Non-fatal injuries | 937 |
| Suspect(s) | Lee Joon, Lee Han-Sang |
| Charges | Negligence, Bribery |
| Verdict | Guilty |
| Convictions | Manslaughter |
The Sampoong Department Store collapse (Korean: 삼풍백화점 붕괴 사고) was a structural failure that occurred on June 29, 1995, in the Seocho-gu district of Seoul, South Korea. The collapse is the largest peacetime disaster in South Korean history as 502 people died and 937 were injured. It was the deadliest modern building collapse until the September 11 attacks in New York City, and the deadliest non-deliberate building collapse until the 2013 Savar building collapse near Dhaka, Bangladesh.
In the events leading up to the 1988 Summer Olympics, there was a large development boom in the Seoul area. Because of bans against international construction contractors signing contracts for projects in Seoul, most buildings were being erected by South Korean companies, who typically built the structures quickly because of the large number of projects assigned to them.
The Sampoong Group began construction of the Sampoong Department Store in 1987 over a tract of land previously used as a landfill. The building's plans originally called for a residential apartment with four floors, and the apartments were to be built by Woosung Construction. Instead, during construction the blueprints were changed by the future chairman of the building, Lee Joon, to instead create a large department store. This involved cutting away a number of support columns to install escalators. When Woosung refused to carry out the changes, Lee ignored warnings, fired him, and used his own building company to complete construction. The building was completed in late 1989, and the Sampoong Department Store opened to the public on July 7, 1990, attracting an estimated 40,000 people per day during the building's five years of existence. The store consisted of north and south wings connected by an atrium.
...
Wikipedia