Yonhap
Is it true to think that error is human, and that it excuses the greatest of misdeeds?
An accident happens without warning, as swiftly as one blows out the flame of a candle. And yet, it is in that brief instant that the course of a life can be forever altered. The butterfly effect rests on the belief that a small action or decision can set off consequences capable of changing our destiny. Such a fateful decision was made when the Sampoong Department Store opened its doors, leading to the deaths of more than five hundred people.
In the 20th century, South Korea endured numerous catastrophes on its soil, including the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905), the Japanese occupation (1910–1945), and the Korean War (1950–1953). Just as it seemed the nation was finally turning the page on its dark past to embrace a new era of prosperity, the peninsula once again made headlines for one of the deadliest tragedies of its time, when, in June 1995, a shopping mall collapsed, claiming the lives of 502 victims.
The Sampoong Department Store, which we will refer to simply as Sampoong throughout this article, was a brand-new building located in the Seocho District of Seoul. Just a few years before its opening, the city had hosted the 1988 Summer Olympics for the very first time, placing Korea on the map as a new, fashionable Asian nation even before the Hallyu boom that later came with K-pop and K-dramas. After a long and tumultuous history with many of its neighboring countries, Korea sought to monopolize its construction projects so that all infrastructure would be exclusively Korean-built, free from foreign involvement. However, a Korean-made construction at that time was not necessarily a guarantee of quality as it might be today.
In an effort to modernize the city quickly and project an image of prosperity in contrast to its difficult past, many construction projects were rushed, completed hastily without regard for detail or basic safety standards. Speed outweighed quality, a lesson that would prove devastating nearly a decade later. At the 30th anniversary of the collapse this year, 63.3% of bereaved families surveyed (out of a sample of thirty) were still suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, according to the Association of Survivors of the Sampoong Department Store Collapse. These symptoms often manifested as episodes of lethargy and anger, coupled with obsessive thoughts reliving the tragedy. What, then, could have happened to leave an entire nation so deeply in pain ?
Construction on Sampoong began in 1987, with the original plan to build a residential apartment complex. The project was first assigned to WOOSUNG CONSTRUCTION, which began work on a four-story building. However, during construction, the SAMPOONG GROUP took over the project under the direction of LEE JOON, who decided to convert it into a department store and add a fifth floor. His gravest mistake was changing the building’s intended purpose: to install escalators connecting the floors, several supporting columns had to be removed. Moreover, the fifth floor was designed as a food court, housing restaurants and cafés—adding significant weight to a structure that was never designed to bear it.
Despite everything, the mall was completed in 1989 and officially opened its doors on July 7, 1990. Comprising a north wing and a south wing, it welcomed an average of 4,000 visitors per day, a number that gradually weakened its already fragile structure, which lacked sufficient support. Moreover, in an effort to create more floor space, LEE JOON decided to reduce the diameter of the remaining columns from 80 cm to 60 cm, thereby violating the safety standards required for a building of that scale. The construction flaws were hidden from view, and the entire structure was painted pink to distract visitors’ attention. This pink color became the mall’s signature look, making it stand out from the surrounding urban landscape and attracting the few foreign tourists visiting the capital at the time.
Indeed, among the 502 victims of the collapse on June 29, 1995, the following nationalities were recorded:
– 1 Brazilian, 1 French, 1 Chinese, 1 Japanese, 1 Thai, 1 Taiwanese, 1 American, 2 Australians, 3 South Africans, 3 Canadians.
But above all, 487 were Korean. In addition, 937 people were injured severely enough to require medical care, out of 1,500 visitors trapped in the building’s debris. The disaster was so immense that it took more than a week for firefighters to rescue survivors and recover the bodies of the victims. Beyond the structural flaws caused by thin, insufficient support columns, the main problems lay in the building’s air conditioning and heating systems. The fifth floor, which housed the restaurants in particular, was equipped with an underfloor heating system embedded in a 1.2-meter-thick concrete slab, adding enormous weight to the structure. As for the air conditioning, it was generated by machines weighing fifteen tons each, installed directly on the roof.
After three years of operation, the air-conditioning units had to be moved from one side of the roof to the other, as many nearby residents complained about the noise they produced. Given the immense weight of the machines, it was recommended that they be relocated using helicopters or cranes, but LEE JOON refused in order to cut costs. Instead, he ordered that they be dragged manually across the rooftop using improvised equipment, an action that caused cracks to form in the structure, precisely in the areas lacking support columns. Since the columns were misaligned between the fifth floor and the lower levels, it would take very little for the entire structure to give way, which is exactly what happened two years later.
Twenty seconds. That’s all it took for Sampoong’s five floors to be reduced to dust. It began in April 1995, when cracks appeared in the ceiling of the fifth floor in the south wing. Rather than consulting professionals to ensure the safety of the building, LEE JOON decided to move materials and goods down to the basement to lighten the load on the upper floor. On the morning of June 29, additional cracks began to appear in large numbers. Yet, instead of evacuating the building, management decided merely to close the fifth floor “until further notice,” unwilling to lose more revenue. At that moment, there were about 1,500 people inside Sampoong. At 5:00 p.m., the ceiling of the fifth floor began to sag gradually—the first sign of the catastrophe to come.
Experts were eventually called in, revealing that the building was at imminent risk of collapse. Five hours before the tragedy, visitors began to complain about loud thudding noises, which were attributed to the air conditioning system, it was therefore switched off. The vibrations throughout the structure grew increasingly noticeable, and many of the ceiling cracks had widened to 10 centimeters. When it became evident that Sampoong would not hold much longer, a committee meeting was convened to decide whether or not to evacuate the customers, a measure that LEE JOON once again refused, prioritizing his financial losses over safety. At 5:52 p.m., loud cracking sounds echoed through the building, and the evacuation alarm was finally activate, but it was too late. At 5:57 p.m., the department store collapsed within seconds, burying hundreds of unsuspecting shoppers who had simply come that day to do something as ordinary as shopping with friends or family.
The ceiling split open, and the air-conditioning units crashed through the floors, smashing into the weakened support columns that had been barely holding the structure together, ultimately, in vain. The south wing was completely obliterated, resulting in $206 million in damages, including both the collapse itself and the destruction of nearby structures. Yet, by noon that same day, the cracks that had first appeared on the fifth floor had already spread to the fourth, which should have been more than enough to convince LEE JOON of the imminent danger and the speed at which the structure was deteriorating.
Four major faults were identified as having potentially prevented the disaster had they been addressed:
- Internal modifications to the building, which weakened its structure.
- Overloading, with the added fifth floor being particularly heavy.
- Construction defects, including the poor quality of materials, especially the concrete.
- Ignored warnings, when cracks appeared in the structure.
The authorities’ initial hypothesis was that the mall had been the target of a terrorist attack by North Korea or had suffered a gas explosion, the latter plausible since three similar incidents had already occurred that same year, thus prompting a full investigation. Although the death toll was catastrophic, it could have been far worse had the rescue operations not been so efficient and swift. Hundreds of people were pulled from the debris in a remarkably short time, some with only minor injuries. Cranes were brought in to clear the wreckage over several days. At the time, Seoul’s mayor, CHOI PYONG YOL, considered suspending search efforts, fearing that the north wing might also collapse. However, he ultimately chose to continue the operation following violent protests from the families of the missing victims. Finally, on the seventeenth day after the incident, a 19-year-old young man was rescued alive, marking the end of the search efforts.
Five years after the collapse, a government survey revealed that 84% of multi-story buildings in South Korea required repairs, and 14% did not comply with safety regulations. This meant that only 2% of the country’s buildings were fully compliant, highlighting the widespread infrastructural problems across the nation. A trial was held to determine LEE JOON’s responsibility in the disaster. For the collapse of the Sampoong Department Store, which caused 502 deaths and over 900 injuries, he was initially sentenced to 10 years in prison for criminal negligence resulting in death, later reduced to 7.5 years on appeal. The CEO of the department store was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and corruption, and received a 7-year sentence. The court concluded that the point of no return had been reached when the air-conditioning units were moved, causing the first structural cracks two years before the collapse.
LEE JOON gained a reputation for his utter lack of empathy, having publicly stated that his main concern during the crisis was not the safety of visitors, but rather the financial loss that an evacuation would cause. This attitude could have earned him a 20-year sentence had the court not acknowledged the unintentional nature of the disaster. He was imprisoned on December 27, 1995, and died on October 4, 2003, from various illnesses—including diabetes—having lived only a few months in freedom after serving his sentence. Several other individuals were also criminally charged, primarily for violations of safety regulations and corruption. As for the bereaved families, they received financial compensation of $220,000 per victim.
The total compensation payouts were estimated to have reached $300 million, forcing the SAMPOONG GROUP to declare bankruptcy after spending several years reimbursing the victims’ families. The families also criticized the city of Seoul for failing to provide adequate psychological support in proportion to the trauma they had suffered. Furthermore, a survey revealed that 21.7% of survivors lost their jobs due to physical and/or psychological injuries. In the aftermath, laws were amended to strengthen safety regulations and ensure that such a tragedy could never happen again. The remaining debris and the surviving wing of the Sampoong building were demolished and cleared, and a memorial was established on the site, though the land was later sold to a private owner. New buildings were eventually constructed there, erasing all visible traces of the ill-fated department store.
The tragedy has recently resurfaced in public discussion because YOON SUK YEOL, the president who was impeached earlier this year following his failed attempt to impose martial law in late 2024, had been living in Acrovista, a luxury apartment complex built on the former ruins of Sampoong. Moreover, 2025 marks the 30th anniversary of the devastating disaster that left a deep scar on South Korea’s history. To commemorate it, Netflix released a documentary series featuring firsthand testimonies about major national tragedies, including the Sampoong collapse, in its anthology « Korean Tragedies : Echoes of Survivor ».
Has such a disaster already occurred in your country? What lessons should we learn from this story, and have you watched the recently released testimonies? Let us know in the comments!
Journalist: Pillet Anaïs
Photos: under pic
Source: KSTATION TV
