Analysis of the Building Demolition Process of the Republic of Korea Based on Case Study

Recently, the demand for building demolition in Korea has been increasing due to the rising number of old buildings and diversification of the types of buildings subject to construction demolition, and the related market size has been continuously growing. On the other hand, the laws, systems, and safety management related to building demolition are not implemented vigorously enough, so safety accidents frequently occur during the demolition process. In this study, we introduce the case of the collapse of a demolition building in Gwangju Metropolitan City in 2021, and we analyze the cause of the safety accident with the survey report published by the Korean government. Also, this study consists of institutional aspects of the demolition construction process in Korea and practical aspects such as sub-contracts, which are two main problems. Although Korean construction-related laws prohibit re-subcontracting in principle, illegal re-subcontracting is prevalent in building demolition and the supervision of building demolition is poor. Also, the dismantling plan does not function effectively as a practical checklist at the construction site due to complicated procedures and many requirements. In conclusion, for building demolition to be carried out more safely and efficiently, it is needed to reasonably improve related practices and systems in Korea.