Sampoong Mall Collapses And Becomes One Of The Deadliest Disasters In South Korea In History Today, 29 June 1995

JAKARTA - On June 29, 1995, the magnificent mall in Seoul, South Korea (South Korea), Sampoong Department Store collapsed to pieces. It was the largest peacetime disaster in South Korean history and the deadliest modern building collapse.

The collapse of the Sampoong Department Store was caused by a structural failure. The collapse of the Sampoong Department Store killed 502 people and injured 937 others.

Citing Great Disaster, construction on Sampoong began in 1987 and was completed in 1989. The mall opened in July 1990 with a bright pink color and immediately attracts around 40 thousand visitors every day.

The building has four floors underground and four store floors above ground. The fifth floor of this building houses a number of traditional Korean restaurants.

It was busy at Sampoong Department Store as usual. But one thing is unusual. The AC in the mall is off. This was unusual because it was the middle of summer and humid. People really need coolness from AC.

One of the store employees named Yoo Ji-Hwan recalled that time when his shop customers were angry and asked, "Why doesn't a prestigious mall like Sampoong have air conditioning on?"

It turned out to be a management decision. The shop clerks in the field didn't really know why. Another employee, named Park Seung-Hyun, who works on the first floor of the basement, said that even though the air conditioner was off and everyone was hot, they still went about their day as usual.

“Even with the AC off, we all keep working. It was the same as any other day. Customers keep shopping and workers keep working.”

The workers had heard the news that the restaurant on the fifth floor was closed due to a crack. In the afternoon, the fourth floor was also closed. However, as city offices were closed that afternoon, workers arrived on their way home and kept other shops open.

Around five o'clock in the afternoon, there was a loud explosion from upstairs. A few minutes later, there was another explosion, this time louder. Then, the building alarm started to sound, and people started to panic.

Things happened so fast. The entire south wing of the Sampoong Department Store collapsed: five floors of the building, all the way down to the basement. In about 20-23 seconds everything was destroyed and there were about 1,500 people who were crushed by the rubble of the building.

Several survivors were evacuated after 52 hours of searching. Rescue workers and families gathered around rejoiced that 24 people who were rescued were still alive.

They were all janitors, lucky enough to be inside an intact basement locker room. However, they have little air and no food or water.

Some of them drink their own urine to survive. Rescue workers found them, using long steel pipes to deliver air, food and water.

Rescuers are trying to pave the way to save those trapped. The process of making the road took more than 13 hours because it had to cut concrete slabs and metal rods.

Even so, the victims eventually had to be smeared with vegetable oil. The officers also used liquid soap so that the victims could be pulled out.

The two men who were found responsible for this disaster were Lee Joon, who is the owner of the Sampoong Department Store. He faces 10 and a half years in prison.

Meanwhile, his son, Lee Han-Sang, faces up to seven years in prison. A facility manager told the investigation team that there was a significant problem before the day of the collapse.

According to him, the fifth floor looks curved and some workers reported hearing cracking sounds from the ceiling. Building management contacted experts that afternoon, then took pictures of the cracks and bulges.

According to several sources, he told senior staff that the building was fine. But another staff member said he suggested that it would be better to evacuate the building. Unfortunately the message was ignored.

Two years earlier, three large air conditioning units on the roof were moved. Although very heavy, the air conditioner unit is not lifted by crane, but is placed on rollers and dragged across the roof. The drag produces cracks.

Citing CNN, the prosecution described Sampoong's owners as more concerned with maximizing profits than the safety of visitors. City officials are willing to accept bribes in exchange for allowing illegal designs and construction.

"Therefore, they are responsible for the collapse of (Sampoong Department Store)," said the three-person panel of judges before reading the verdict.

The court also sentenced Lee Choong-Woo, the former chief administrator of the upscale residential area where Sampoong is located, to three years in prison on bribery charges. The panel also sentenced 23 other people to prison terms and fines in connection with the disaster.

The Seoul City Government also offered compensation of up to 200 million won to the relatives of each of the victims. In the aftermath of the disaster, public criticism erupted over the human toll of South Korea's extremely high economic growth.

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