Police raid Hyundai E&C over overpass wall collapse

This photo shows a car trapped under the debris of a collapsed wall on a road in Osan, Gyeonggi Province, July 16. Courtesy of the Gyeonggi Fire and Disaster Headquarters

Police on Tuesday raided Hyundai Engineering & Construction and other entities allegedly related to the collapse of an overpass retaining wall in Osan last week.

The 10-meter-high retaining wall of an overpass in Osan, Gyeonggi Province, 52 kilometers south of Seoul, collapsed onto the road amid heavy rain on July 16, burying two vehicles under the debris and killing one motorist.

The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency sent investigators earlier in the day to the Seoul headquarters of Hyundai E&C, which built the overpass, the Osan City Hall and the Korea Authority of Land & Infrastructure Safety, which supervised the construction project, to secure data related to the design, construction, maintenance and repairs of the overpass.

Police are also investigating records of communications between municipal and disaster prevention authorities to confirm whether safety management, such as traffic control, was properly implemented immediately before the accident.