Construction of Busan skyscraper suspended following typhoon damage

By Kim Jae-heun

The local government of Busan has ordered the suspension of construction for LCT, a high-rise apartment complex in Haeundae, after hundreds of the building's windows were broken by the recent Typhoon Kong-rey on Saturday.

According to the Haeundae-gu Office, Wednesday, some 100 windows on the 35th to 65th floors of the LCT's Landmark Tower building were damaged by the typhoon.

Pieces of broken glass flew and destroyed 30 windows of another building of the apartment complex as well as windows of six shops further away. Some 60 cars parked underneath the Landmark Tower were also damaged.

“The construction site and the facilities nearby have been damaged. We ordered the construction company to suspend the construction until safe conditions are secured. We have requested the buildings undergo expert inspection,” an official of the district office said.

According to the builder, POSCO Engineering and Construction, a metal wire installed on an outer wall of the Landmark Tower was slackened by the strong wind and hit the tempered glass of the windows for over an hour, adding it was not the wind of the typhoon that broke the glass.

It said the broken pieces of glass swirled around in the high wind to cause secondary damage.

The 350-meter-long metal wire was installed to transfer materials and workers at the construction site.

When the typhoon passed through, the maximum wind speed at the top of the tower was recorded at 47.8 meters per second, the construction company said.