Police investigating the fatal collapse at the Gwangju Representative Library construction site say 51 people have now been referred to prosecutors, expanding the case from alleged safety failures to bribery, preferential treatment and other construction-related misconduct. The latest referrals cover 19 public officials, supervisors and company representatives, according to reports citing the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency.
One public official is accused of seeking a bribe in return for providing favorable treatment to a company. Six members of the construction supervision team allegedly received money from the contractor, while 12 contractor executives and other company representatives are accused of providing money or participating in improper exchanges. The reported payments ranged from hundreds of thousands of won to as much as 10 million won.
The corruption inquiry followed investigations into the collapse itself. Police previously referred a site manager, a chief supervisor and nine others on suspicion of occupational negligence resulting in death. A later round involved 28 construction participants, including two public officials, over allegations including negligent homicide, illegal subcontracting and operating an unregistered construction business.
Referral figures contain an unresolved overlap
The numerical breakdown reported for the three rounds requires caution. The stated groups of 11, 28 and 19 total 58 if treated as entirely separate, while police reported a cumulative total of 51 people. The available reports do not establish whether some suspects appeared in more than one round or whether the figures represent different procedural or charge categories, so the groups cannot be treated as mutually exclusive.
Four workers died when the construction site in Gwangju's Seo District collapsed on December 11 of the previous year. A Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport investigation identified welding that differed from the approved design and inadequate inspection as causes of the collapse.
Police said the wider inquiry found alleged financial exchanges and illegal construction practices alongside failures in management and supervision. The referrals place both the immediate construction work and the conduct of officials, supervisors and contractors before prosecutors, but the supplied reports do not state whether prosecutors have made charging decisions.