INVESTIGATION ON GWANGJU BUILDING

[Anchor Lead]

It's been found that the demolition of the building in Gwangju that collapsed two days ago was carried out differently from the way it had been planned. Instead of top-down demolition, the lower floors were removed first.

[Pkg]

This is what the structure looked like before its collapse. An excavator standing on a pile of soil reaching the third floor demolishes the middle part of the building. But this is not what the demolition plan submitted by the developer stated. The plan states a top-down demolition method, whereby the top two floors are supposed to be removed first before moving on to the third, second and first levels. To prevent the building structure from losing its balance and collapsing, the top-down method was submitted. But, current evidence suggests that the workers at the site did not stick to this plan.

[Soundbite] Cho Won-cheol(Honorary professor, Yonsei University) : "They probably planned to demolish the top floor first. But the workers first tore down the back side of the building, leaving only the other side facing the road intact. As a result, the structure tilted towards the road and collapsed."

There's also reason to believe that the demolition work was rushed ahead of schedule. The submitted plan says that a total of 12 structures in the area including the one that has collapsed were to be demolished by the end of June. In reality, all but one building had been taken down in just two weeks, prior to the tragedy. This means it took less than two days to tear down each structure. Some 550 buildings had been demolished in the redevelopment area so far, but local officials never once visited the sites for inspection.

[Soundbite] Cho Hyun-ki(Gwangju City Government) : "Supervisors are supposed to inspect overall safety, demolition methods and everything else."

With the demolition firm yet to announce its stance, police are analyzing the seized documents to find out if any irregularities had been committed during demolition works.