Ceiling Collapse at Daegu Commercial Building Injures Dozens of Older Adults... Police, National Forensic Service Begin Probe into Cause

Joint detailed on-site investigation underway
Probe focuses on possible negligence by building and event organizers

After ceiling finish materials collapsed at a commercial building in Daegu, leaving dozens injured, a joint investigation by police and relevant agencies has begun in earnest to determine the exact cause of the accident.

On the morning of the 11th, investigators from the National Forensic Service and police forensic teams conducted a joint on-site inspection on the second floor of a commercial building in Gwaneum-dong, Buk-gu, Daegu, to determine the cause of the ceiling material collapse that occurred the previous day. Yonhap News.

At 9 a.m. on October 11, the Daegu Metropolitan Police Agency conducted a detailed joint on-site investigation for about an hour at the accident site in Gwaneum-dong, Buk-gu, Daegu, together with about 10 officials from the National Forensic Service and Daegu City. At around 10:16 a.m. the previous day, October 10, ceiling structures on the building's second floor collapsed onto the floor.

Investigators thoroughly examined the entire second-floor interior, where the accident was concentrated, focusing on whether the structures, including the ceiling framework that supported the ceiling, had any underlying defects. Police also secured a home camera installed by the company holding a promotional event at the site when the accident occurred and began analyzing footage of the incident.

Based on the investigation findings and video footage, authorities plan to carefully review whether to charge the building owner or event organizer with causing bodily injury through occupational negligence. An official who visited the site also said, "We cannot rule out the possibility that internal structures, such as the wires supporting the finish materials, deteriorated over time, snapped, and led to the collapse." The commercial building is a four-story structure completed in 1994. The ground-floor stores had been closed since the end of September.

At the time of the accident, a promotional event for kitchenware targeting older adults was underway, with more than 60 people crowded at the site, worsening the toll. When the ceiling collapsed, evacuees surged all at once toward a narrow staircase, creating a frightening situation that could have led to a major crush accident. A total of 38 people sustained minor injuries. So far, 18 have received hospital treatment, and five of them are hospitalized. A Disaster Psychological Recovery Support Center run by the Korean Red Cross was set up near the scene, where about 20 shaken residents received counseling.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.