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SampoongDepartmentStorecollapseWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Coordinates:372953.94N127047.65E

SampoongDepartmentStorecollapse
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

TheSampoongDepartmentStorecollapse(Korean:
)wasastructuralfailurethat
occurredonJune29,1995,intheSeochogudistrict
ofSeoul,SouthKorea.Thecollapseisthelargest
peacetimedisasterinSouthKoreanhistoryas502
peoplediedand937wereinjured.Itwasthedeadliest
modernbuildingcollapseuntiltheSeptember11
attacksinNewYorkCity,andthedeadliestnon
terrorrelatedbuildingcollapseuntilthe2013Savar
buildingcollapsenearDhaka,Bangladesh.[1]

SampoongDepartmentStorecollapse

Time

5:52:30PMKST

Date

Thursday,June29,1995

Location

Seoul,SouthKorea

Cause

StructuralOverload,Punching
Shear

2 Collapse

Deaths

502

3 Aftermath

Nonfatal
injuries

937

Suspect(s)

LeeJoon,LeeHanSang

Charges

Negligence,Bribery

Verdict

Guilty

Convictions

Manslaughter

Contents
1 Background

3.1 Rescueandrecovery
3.2 Investigation
3.3 Trial
3.4 Generalreactionandnationwide
buildingreview
3.5 Notablesurvivors
3.6 Thesitetoday
3.7 Memorials
4 Media
5 Seealso
6 References
7 Externallinks

Background
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TheSampoongGroup,aSouthKoreantradecompanybeganconstructionoftheSampoongDepartment
Storein1987overatractoflandpreviouslyusedasalandfill.Originallydesignedasaresidential
apartmentwithfourfloors,itwaschangedtoalargedepartmentstoreduringitsconstructionbythe
futurechairmanofthebuilding,LeeJoon.Thisinvolvedcuttingawayanumberofsupportcolumnsin
ordertoinstallescalators.[2]Whentheoriginalcontractorsrefusedtocarryoutthesechanges,Lee
ignoredtheirwarningsandfiredthem,insteadusinghisownbuildingcompanytocomplete
construction.
Thebuildingwascompletedinlate1989,andtheSampoongDepartmentStoreopenedtothepublicon
July7,1990,attractinganestimated40,000peopleperdayduringthebuilding'sfiveyearsofexistence.
Thestoreconsistedofnorthandsouthwings,connectedbyanatrium.
Afifthfloororiginallyplannedtohouseaskatingrinkwasaddedlaterinthebuilding'slifetocomply
withzoningregulationsthatpreventedthewholebuildingfrombeingusedasadepartmentstore.
However,Leechangedtheoriginalplanforthefifthfloortoincludeeightrestaurantsinstead.Whena
constructioncompanytaskedtocompletetheextensionadvisedthatthestructurewouldnotsupport
anotherfloor,theywerefired,andanothercompanywashiredtocompletetheproject.Therestaurant
flooralsohadaheatedconcretebasereferredtoasondolthathashotwaterpipesgoingthroughit,as
patronssitontheflooroftraditionalKoreanrestaurants,whichaddedalargeextraloadduetothe
increaseinthicknessoftheconcreteslab.
Inaddition,thebuilding'sairconditioningunitwasinstalledontheroof,creatingaloadoffourtimesthe
designlimit.Twoyearsbeforethecollapse,theairconditioningunitsweremovedacrossthedelicate
roof,whichiswherethecrackingstarted.Theunitsweremovedoverthecolumn5Efromwhichthe
mostvisiblecracksinthefloorofthefifthlevelwereseenbeforethecollapse.

Collapse
InApril1995,cracksbegantoappearintheceilingofthesouthwing'sfifthfloor.Duringthisperiod,the
onlyresponsebyLeeandhismanagementstaffinvolvedmovingmerchandiseandstoresfromthetop
floortothebasement.
OnthemorningofJune29,thenumberofcracksintheareaincreaseddramatically,prompting
managerstoclosethetopfloorandshuttheairconditioningoff.Thestoremanagementfailedtoshutthe
buildingdownorissueformalevacuationorders,asthenumberofcustomersinthebuildingwas
unusuallyhigh,andtheydidnotwanttolosetheday'srevenue.However,theexecutivesthemselvesleft
thepremisesasaprecaution.
Civilengineeringexpertswereinvitedtoinspectthestructure,withacursorycheckrevealingthatthe
buildingwasatriskofcollapsetheNationalGeographicdocumentaryseriesSecondsFromDisaster
indicatesthatthefacility'smanagerwasexaminingtheslabinoneoftherestaurantsonthefifthfloor,
eighthoursbeforethecollapse,when,unknowingly,vibrationfromairconditioningwasradiating
throughthecracksintheconcretecolumnsandtheflooropenedup.
Fivehoursbeforethecollapse,thefirstofseveralloudbangswasheardemanatingfromthetopfloors,
asthevibrationoftheairconditioningcausedthecracksintheslabstowidenfurther.Amidcustomer
reportsofvibration,theairconditioningwasturnedoff,butthecracksinthefloorshadalreadygrownto
10cmwide.

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Atabout5:00p.m.KoreaStandardTime(UTC+9:00),thefifth
floorceilingbegantosink,resultinginstoreworkersblocking
customeraccesstothefifthfloor.AccordingtoSecondsFrom
Disaster,thestorewaspackedwithshoppers57minutesbefore
thecollapse,butLeedidnotclosethestoreorcarryoutrepairsat
thattime.Whenthebuildingstartedtoproducecrackingsounds
atabout5:52:30p.m.,workersbegantosoundalarmsand
evacuatethebuilding,butbythenitwastoolate.
Around5:52:30p.m.,theroofgaveway,andtheairconditioning
unitscrashedthroughintothealreadyoverloadedfifthfloor.[3]
Themaincolumns,weakenedtoallowtheinsertionofthe
escalators,collapsedinturn,andthebuilding'ssouthwing
pancakedintothebasement.Within20seconds,allofthe
building'scolumnsinthesouthwinggaveway,trappingmore
than1,500peopleandkilling502.
Thedisasterresultedinabout270billion(approximately
US$216million)worthofpropertydamage.

Aftermath
Rescueandrecovery
Rescuecrewswereonthescenewithinminutesofthe
disaster,withcranesandotherheavyequipmentbeing
broughtinthenextday.However,authoritiesannounced
thattheywouldcallofftherescue,duetothedangerthatthe
unstableremainsofthestorecouldcomedown,andmanyof
therescuerswouldbeatrisk.Massiveprotests,especially
fromfriendsandrelativesofthosestillmissing,compelled
officialstocontinuelookingforsurvivors,withtheremains
ofthestorebeingsteadiedbyguidecables.Afternearlya
week,thefocuswasonremovingthedebris,though
constructioncrewswerecarefultocheckforvictims.

ViewoftheSampoongbuilding
shortlyafterthecollapse.Withthe
exceptionoftheendtower,theentire
southwinghasfallendownupon
itself.

Rescuecrewsatthesiteofthecollapse

Twodaysafterthecollapse,someofficialssaidthat
anybodywhowasstillinthebuildingmusthavealreadydiedtherefore,furthereffortswouldbemade
onlytowards"recovery",not"rescue".Thisconflictswiththefactthatotherpeoplecansurvivemuch
longer.[4]Despitetheswelteringheat,thosewhowerenotrescuedinthefirstfewdayswereableto
avoiddehydrationbydrinkingrainwater.Thelasttoberescued,19yearoldParkSeunghyun(;
),waspulledfromthewreckage17daysafterthecollapsewithafewscratches.Shesaidthatshe
heardthesoundsofothersurvivorsdrowninginthefiredepartment'sdeflationwater.

Investigation
TheinvestigationcommitteeandeffortwasheadedbyProfessorLanChungofDankookUniversity's
engineeringschool.

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Shortlyafterthecollapse,leakinggaswassuspectedastheprobablecausebecausetwogasexplosions
hadoccurredelsewhereinthecitythatyear.However,firesamidtherubblewerefromburning
automotivegasolinecomingfromcrushedcarsparkedintheundergroundgarage,whereasagas
explosionwouldhavebeenamassiveinferno.Inaddition,itwaswidelyfearedthattherehadbeena
terroristattack,withNorthKoreaastheprimesuspect.However,thefactthebuildingcollapsed
downwardinsteadofhorizontallyruledoutthispossibilityaccordingtoU.S.andSouthKoreanexperts.
Initially,itwasbelievedthebuilding'spoorlylaidfoundation,andthefactitwasbuiltonunstable
ground,ledtothefailure.Investigationoftherubblerevealedthatasubstandardconcretemixofcement
andseawaterandpoorlyreinforcedconcretewasusedfortheceilingsandwalls.
Furtherinvestigationrevealedthebuildingwasbuiltwithincorrectapplicationofatechniquecalled"flat
slabconstruction".Reinforcedconcretebuildingsareoftenbuiltusingcolumnsandbeams,withthe
floorslabsupportedoverthefulllengthofthebeams."Flatslabconstruction"doesnotusebeams,but
supportsthefloorslabdirectlyonthecolumns.Theareaofflooraroundthecolumnsmustbereinforced
inordertocarrytheloadeventhen,ifthecolumnsaretoonarrow,theycanpunchthroughtheslab.
However,examinationoftheSampoongDepartmentStorebuildingshowedtheconcretecolumns
installedwereonly60cmindiameter,belowtherequired80cmshownintheplans.Worsestill,the
numberofsteelreinforcingbarsembeddedintotheconcretewas8,nottherequired16,givingthe
buildingonlyhalfitsneededstrength.Steelreinforcementsintendedtostrengthentheconcretefloor
wereplaced10cmfromthetopinsteadof5cm,decreasingthestructure'sstrengthbyaboutanother
20%.
Ironically,oneofthechangesthatcontributedtothecollapsewastheinstallationofasafetyfeature.Fire
shieldswereinstalledaroundallescalatorstopreventthespreadoffirefromfloortofloor,butinorder
toinstallthem,thebuilderscutintothesupportcolumns,reducingtheirdiameterfurther.Thereduced
diameterconcentratedtheburdenonasmallerareaofsupportedslab,leadingtoaneventualpuncturing
oftheslab.
Thesefactors,alongwiththeadditionofafifthfloorincludingrestaurantsandheavyrestaurant
equipment,collectivelycontributedtothebuilding'seventualfailure.However,theoriginalbuilding
designwouldhavebeenmorethantwiceasstrongasneededtoremainerect,andtheflawedstructure
managedtostandforfiveyears.
Investigatorsfinallypinpointedthedirectcauseofthecollapse,knownasthe"trigger"ortippingpoint,
inthebuilding'shistory.Itwasrevealedthatthebuilding'sthreerooftopairconditioningunitshadbeen
movedin1993duetonoisecomplaintsfromneighboursontheeastsideofthebuilding.Thebuilding's
managersadmittednoticingcracksontheroofduringthemove,butinsteadofliftingthemwithacrane,
theunitswereputonrollersanddraggedacrosstheroof,furtherdestabilizingthesurfaceduetoeach
unit'simmenseweight.Cracksformedintheroofslabsandthemainsupportcolumnswereforced
downwardcolumn5Etookadirecthit,formingcracksinthepositionconnectedtothefifthfloor
restaurants.Accordingtosurvivoraccounts,eachtimetheairconditionerswereswitchedonthe
vibrationsradiatedthroughthecracks,reachingthesupportingcolumnsandwideningthecracks,over
thecourseoftwoyears.Onthedayofthetragedy,althoughtheunitswereshutoff,itwastoolatethe
structurehadsufferedirreversibledamage,andthefifthfloorslabaroundcolumn5Efinallygaveway.

Trial
LeeJoonwaschargedwithcriminalnegligenceandreceivedaprisonsentenceoftenandahalfyears.[5]
However,Lee'ssentencewasreducedtosevenyearsonappealinApril1996.Leediedofhealth
complicationsonOctober4,2003,afewdaysafterbeingdischarged,relatingtoheartfailure,highblood
pressureanddiabetes.
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Hisson,LeeHanSang,thestore'spresident,whoisnowworkingforreligiouscausesinMongolia,
facedsevenyearsforaccidentalhomicideandcorruption.[5]CityofficialsLeeChungWooandHwang
CholMin,inchargeofoverseeingtheconstructionofthebuilding,werealsofoundtohavebeenbribed
intoconcealingtheillegalchangesandpoorconstruction.Asaresult,theparticipatingofficials,
includingaformerchiefadministratoroftheSeochogudistrict,werealsojailed.Otherpartiessentenced
includedanumberofSampoongDepartmentStoreexecutivesandthecompanyresponsiblefor
completingthebuilding.
Thesettlementinvolved3,293cases,totaling375.8billion(about$350millionUSD).Theformer
chaebolLeefamilywasstrippedofalloftheirpossessionsandassetstocoverthecosts.andasaresult,
theSampoongGroupwasdisbanded.

Generalreactionandnationwidebuildingreview
Theinitialreactionwasenormouspublicoutragethatledtomonthsofdemonstrationonthestreets.The
disasterlaterledtoskepticismandfearsregardingsafetystandardsonotherengineeringprojects
undertakenasSouthKoreaexperiencedaneconomicboomduringthe1980sand1990s,andresultedin
areviewofSouthKoreansafetyregulationstheincidentalsorevealedthelevelofcorruptionamong
cityofficials,whowerewillingtoacceptpayoffswithlittleregardforpublicsafety.

Notablesurvivors
ShinJeongah(23,female),claimedshewasrescuedaftereighthours[6]
ChoeMyeongSeok(20,male),rescuedafter11days(230hours)
YooJiHwan(18,female),rescuedafter13days(285hours)
ParkSeungHyun(19,female),rescuedafter17days(377hours)[7][8]

Thesitetoday
Thesiteremainedvacantuntil2000.Theformerlocationofthedepartmentstoreisnowhometoa
luxuryapartmentcomplexcalledAcrovistaApartments,whoseconstructionbeganin2001(butnot
withoutcomplaintsfromsomeofthevictimsfamiliesoverbuildingthecomplexoverthesiteofthe
disaster)andwascompletedin2004.[9]

Memorials
TheYangjaeCitizen'sForesthasasculpturemadeinmemoryofthecollapse.

Media
ParkChanWookdepictedthegreedcapitalizingonthetragedyinhis1999shortfilmJudgement.
TheSampoongDepartmentStorecollapsewasdepictedinthe2006film,TracesofLove.
TheeventwasportrayedinaBlueprintforDisasterepisode.SecondsfromDisasteralsocovered
thecatastrophe,aswellasitsaftereffectsonSouthKorea.[10]
TheseriesfinaleoftheSBSTVseriesGiantreferencestheSampoongDepartmentStore
collapse.[11]
ItwasanemotionalmomentforcharactersintheTVshowReply1994.[12]

Seealso
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SeongsuBridge
JayaSupermarket

References
1. "Bangladeshbuildingcollapsedeathtollpasses700".BBCNews.7May2013.Retrieved7May2013.
2. "China'sweaponsofmassconstruction".TheNewsFromWabueup.July2,2009.Retrieved29March2012.
3. SecondsFromDisasterindicatesthatthefifthfloorslabandroofwerethefirsttocollapse,causingtheair
conditioningunitstofallthroughthestructure
4. HowStuffWorks.com(http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/survival/wilderness/livewithoutfoodand
water1.htm)mentionscasesofpeoplesurvivingweekswithoutfoodandsaysthat"aJapanesehiker[in2006]
survivedfor24days...withoutfoodandwater".
5. "Koreanstoreowner,sonsentencedforroleincollapse".CNN.27December1995.Retrieved9January
2012.
6. SeoDongshin,"BiennaleDirectorSackedforAcademicForgery"
(http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/special/special_view.asp?categoryCode=178&newsIdx=6394),The
KoreaTimesJuly12,2007.RetrievedonMarch31,2008.
7. Ilbo,DongA(June25,2005)."10(SampoongDepartment
Storedisaster,10yearslatersurvivors)".Naver(inKorean).Retrieved25December2011.
8. News,Yeonhap(October13,2010)."(RescuecasesinKoreafor
buryingaccident)".Naver(inKorean).Retrieved13October2010.
9. EmporisGmbH."DaesangAcrovista".emporis.com.
10. SecondsfromDisaster.Season3,Episode5.
11. "[REVIEW]SBSseries"Giant" ".hancinema.net.Retrieved9December2010.
12. "AnswerMe1994(Drama2013)".Retrieved30November2013.

SecondsFromDisaster:"SuperstoreCollapse"(September20,2006Season3,Episode11).

Externallinks
TheKoreaTimes:TheDawnofModernKoreaCollapse
ofSampoongDepartmentStore

WikimediaCommonshas
mediarelatedtoSampoong
DepartmentStorecollapse.

(http://web.archive.org/web/20070314002032/http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/opinion/200410/kt
2004101418510554130.htm)
SouthKoreandisasters(http://www.connectkorea.com/11notablesouthkoreandisasters/)
ANationalEmergencyManagementAgency(NEMA)articleontheSampoongDisaster
(http://www.nema.go.kr/eng/m4_samp.jsp)
Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Sampoong_Department_Store_collapse&oldid=689135573"
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DisastersinSouthKorea HistoryofSeoul Collapsedbuildings 20thcenturyinSeoul
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