The ceiling of an old building in Daegu collapsed and 38 people were injured. Undeclared sales activities raised safety concerns
A partial ceiling collapse occurred in an old building in Daegu yesterday. An undeclared kitchen supplies sales event was being held to attract the elderly, resulting in 38 injuries and exposing the blind spots in the safety management of small old buildings and short-term commercial activities.
Quick Look
- On the 10th, a ceiling collapse occurred in an old building completed in 1994 in Daegu, South Korea.
- At that time, a promotion event for undeclared kitchen supplies was held to attract the elderly, injuring 38 people.
- This incident has triggered concerns about blind spots in safety supervision of small old buildings and short-term activities.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The 4-story building was completed in 1994 and has been completed for 32 years. However, it has been in the blind spot of safety management for a long time because it is not subject to statutory regular safety inspections.
(Central News Agency reporter Yang Qifang, Seoul, 11th) A partial collapse of the ceiling of an old building occurred in Daegu, South Korea yesterday, injuring 38 people due to a kitchen supplies sales event. This sales activity was not reported to the competent local government, raising concerns that safety management may be ignored.
Yonhap News Agency reported today that according to relevant sources in Daegu, yesterday's accident occurred when the ceiling decoration materials suddenly fell during a kitchen supplies sales event held by Company A. Company A has been using toilet paper and other gifts as incentives since this month to attract participants to participate in the event. It also held an event at the same location in March last year.
Administrative authorities, the police and other units stated that such activities usually promote information about the activities in nursing homes or welfare centers where senior citizens gather, and attract people to the scene with claims such as "participating in the activities will get free items." Similar to this accident, such activities often do not report sales business to the competent district office and are evacuated after a short period of time. Therefore, they also fall into the blind spot of local government management and supervision.
A local government official said that activities targeting the elderly to sell daily necessities or recruit MLM members are usually held briefly in a certain area and then moved to other areas. "Such activities are more often held in older buildings with cheaper rents than in buildings with new equipment."
The person in charge of Daegu North District did not know that Company A was holding a sales event at that location before the accident yesterday. A local government official said that if businesses do not declare in advance before activities, it will be difficult for local governments to fully understand the current situation, and emphasized the need to rectify regulations on old building management and product sales activities.
The 4-story building where Industry A holds events is an old building completed in 1994. Although this building has been completed for 32 years, it is not subject to statutory regular safety inspections. Therefore, the outside world requires countermeasures to eliminate blind spots in safety management of small and old buildings.
Open Questions
- Will the sponsor face criminal or civil liability?
- What specific measures will the local government take to rectify old buildings in the future?
