While South Korea is experiencing a large boom economic in the 1980s, it was also awarded the title of organizer of the 1988 Olympic Games. In order to meet these new needs, a multitude of buildings were started, the Sampoong department store being one of these projects . However, due to the various bans in force in Seoul preventing foreign companies from signing contracts in the city, these huge projects all fall to a handful of South Korean companies. Overwhelmed by imperatives, these companies then decide to accelerate the pace, whatever the price.
The architect’s initial plans are modified
On the plans for a 4-story residential complex whose construction was to be led by Woosung Construction, Lee Joon, the future director of the Sampoong Group, summarily modified the plans in order to transform it into a huge 5-story shopping center. These hastily made changes pushed Woosung Construction to rise up against their employer, citing possible infrastructure problems. Faced with this, Lee Joon responds with a wave of layoffs, imposing Sampoong as the new builder of the project.
Starting construction of the building in 1987 for an opening in 1989, the size of the pillars were re-evaluated from 80 centimeters to 60 centimeters in diameter and their distance between them was also extended in order to gain usable surface area. Worse, the air conditioning system was installed at the last moment on the roof without taking into account its weight of several dozen tons.
A refusal to evacuate the building after a first incident
In April 1995, huge cracks appeared in the building and employees reported feelings of nausea caused by the constant tremor felt on the upper floors. Despite this, management refuses to evacuate the place, citing the terrible economic losses that this complex welcoming 40,000 people per day could suffer. In June of the same year, while water from the air conditioning system infiltrated the 5th floor, management still refused to evacuate the building, preferring to close the floor concerned. At around 6 p.m., a huge cracking sound rang out. The air conditioning system drops to the 5th floor then passes through the rest of the lower floors with a huge crash. In a few seconds all of the pillars, much too frail to effectively support the weight of the building, collapsed together. 502 people lost their lives while more than 1,000 people were injured and found themselves trapped in the rubble. The damage was such that emergency services were only able to find the last survivors 20 days later.
10 years in prison for the director
Lee Joon was found guilty of criminal negligence in December of the same year and received 10 and a half years in prison. The property damage amounted to $216 million and the families of the victims managed to obtain compensation to the tune of a total of $300 million. During his trial, Lee Joon caused controversy one last time by indicating that he was more worried about the financial impact of the tragedy on his company than about the fate of the victims. Ultimately, the various trials got the better of Sampoong, who was dissolved shortly after the events.
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