SEOUL, July 7 (Korea Bizwire) — GS Engineering & Construction Co.’s decision to reconstruct the apartment complex, where an underground parking lot collapsed, is known to be driven by the determination of its top management, industry sources said Thursday.
The company initially issued a written apology after the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport briefed about the investigation results into the collapse.
However, two hours later, the company re-issued a modified version of the apology.
During the interim hours, top executives held a meeting and decided to rebuild all 17 buildings within the complex.
During the meeting, executives referenced the “Anycall Burning” incident, which is an integral part of the late Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-hee’s legacy.
In 1988, Samsung Electronics Co. introduced the nation’s first mobile phones and focused on increasing production to catch up with the market leader at the time, Motorola Inc.
As a result, the defect rate of Samsung’s products sharply increased.
Lee instructed employees to gather 150,000 devices in a pile in front of the Gumi factory and ordered them to be burned in 1995.
In the apology statement, GS E&S stated that it had decided to completely reconstruct the apartment complex, drawing inspiration from the “management figure” who burned a pile of defective devices in the past.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)