Police investigating the collapse of the Seosomun overpass, which left six casualties on the 26th of last month, have begun a full-scale investigation by summoning officials from the demolition contractor.
According to reporting by this newspaper on the 2nd, the Metropolitan Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency questioned officials from Heunghwa, the contractor handling the Seosomun overpass demolition, as witnesses on the same day. The questioning came one week after police and the Ministry of Employment and Labor launched their investigations following the collapse.
Police are reported to have intensively probed the contractor's safety management system, operational practices, and the circumstances before and after the accident during the demolition process. Within several days, investigators also plan to summon officials from Soosung Engineering, the supervisory firm. The site manager of Heunghwa's subcontractor is also on the list to be summoned.
Currently, four safety management officials at Heunghwa, including a site manager-level employee, have been booked by police on charges of professional negligence resulting in death. At a press meeting the previous day, Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Commissioner Park Jung-bo said, "We are conducting a detailed analysis of materials secured through on-site forensics and search and seizure," adding, "We are examining whether or not the booked officials bear any negligence (in causing the fatal accident)."
