On the afternoon of June 9, 2022, marking the first anniversary of the “Hakdong Disaster,” the Unlim 54 city bus, which the victims were aboard during the tragic incident, passes by the redevelopment project accident site in Hakdong 4 District, Dong-gu, Gwangju.
In the appellate trial, employees of a subcontractor involved in the Gwangju Hakdong collapse, where 9 bus passengers died and 8 were seriously injured, received reduced sentences. The original sentences for other related parties, including the main contractor HDC Hyundai Development Company (Hyundai Development Corporation), were upheld.
On the 21st, the 1st Criminal Division of the Gwangju High Court (Presiding Judge Park Jeong-hoon) issued an appellate judgment for seven individuals and three corporations involved in the demolition work of the housing redevelopment project in Gwangju Hakdong District 4. These parties had been convicted in the first trial for charges including occupational negligence resulting in death.
The court reduced the sentences by up to one year for A, the representative of the subcontractor Baeksoul Construction who operated the excavator during the collapse, B, the site manager of the subcontractor Hansoul Enterprise, and C, the supervisor who failed in their oversight responsibilities.
Initially, A, B, and C were sentenced to 3 years and 6 months, 2 years and 6 months, and 1 year and 6 months in prison, respectively. However, the appellate court revised these to 2 years and 6 months, 2 years, and 1 year and 6 months, each with a suspended sentence of 3 years. Both A and B, given prison sentences in both the first and appellate trials, had their bail revoked and were detained in court on the day of the verdict.
The appellate court stated the reduction in sentences was due to “agreements reached with the victims or the acknowledgment and remorse shown for their actions.”
For the remaining four, including the Hyundai Development representative, the court dismissed the appeal and upheld the original decision. The first trial had sentenced the site manager of Hyundai Development to 2 years in prison with a 3-year suspension and a fine of 5 million won. The safety manager and the administrative manager of the same company received a suspended prison sentence of 1 year and 2 years, respectively. The asbestos removal subcontractor’s site manager from Dawon ENC received a suspended sentence of 2 years in prison with a 3-year suspension.
The original judgments were also upheld for the three related corporations. The first trial ordered Hyundai Development to pay a fine of 20 million won, and Hansoul and Baeksoul were each fined 30 million won. The court stated, “Even considering various circumstances, it is difficult to conclude that the sentences imposed in the first trial exceed the rational scope of discretion.”
On June 9, 2021, during the demolition of a five-story building in Gwangju’s Dong-gu Hakdong 4 District, the building collapsed toward the road, crushing a passing city bus. This accident resulted in the deaths of 9 citizens aboard the bus and 8 others being seriously injured.