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Sampoong Store Collapse Overview

The Sampoong Department Store collapse in 1995 in Seoul, South Korea was the largest peacetime disaster in the country's history. The 5-story building collapsed, killing 501 people and injuring 937 others. An investigation found the immediate cause was structural degradation of a support column. The basic causes included a lack of engineering analysis, prioritizing profits over safety, poor management practices, and ignoring contractor warnings. Recommendations included implementing comprehensive safety programs and respecting engineering opinions to prevent future disasters.

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Shannon MacDonald
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475 views8 pages

Sampoong Store Collapse Overview

The Sampoong Department Store collapse in 1995 in Seoul, South Korea was the largest peacetime disaster in the country's history. The 5-story building collapsed, killing 501 people and injuring 937 others. An investigation found the immediate cause was structural degradation of a support column. The basic causes included a lack of engineering analysis, prioritizing profits over safety, poor management practices, and ignoring contractor warnings. Recommendations included implementing comprehensive safety programs and respecting engineering opinions to prevent future disasters.

Uploaded by

Shannon MacDonald
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Sampoong Department Store

Collapse
“The Largest Peacetime Disaster in South Korean History”
Overview of the Incident
Location: Seocho-gu district of Seoul, South Korea
Date: June 29, 1995
Incident Summary:
 Manager was instructed to investigate noises coming from rooftop
 Manager discovered cracks on rooftop caused by removal of A/C units two years prior
 Two hours later, manager was called to restaurant on 5th floor to assess cracks around
Column 5E
 Manager instructed employees to keep the issue classified
 Around 12:00 PM, employees on the 5th floor heard noises and the building underwent
mild vibrations.
 By 4:00 PM, the cracks in the restaurant had widened to
four inches
 Structural engineer recommended the store be closed but
management opposed.
 At 5:40 and 5:47 PM, loud bangs were heard from above
 At 5:52 PM, a shockwave rocked the building and the
5-storey building collapsed with 1500 people trapped inside
Event Tree
Fault
Tree
Immediate & Basic Causes
Immediate Cause
Determined through examination of evidence:
 Structural degradation of Column 5E

Basic Causes
Determined through a fault tree analysis:
 No engineering analysis was applied
 Management prioritized profit over safety
 Poor management change was utilized
 Contractors opinions were not respected

Note: the basic causes were decided based on


areas where management failed to meet the
13 elements of a typical safety and risk
management program (refer to Appendix F
of Incident Investigation Report)
Top: Cracks on the roof from moving A/C units
Bottom: Structural failure at the base of the column
Losses
People - Injury and death of many company employees, contractors, visitors,
and public in close proximity to the site at the time of collapse; 501
people died and 937 were injured.
- Short and long-term suffering to victims and families

Environment- Damage to public & neighbouring property

Assets - All assets (e.g. furniture, equipment, products, etc.) were destroyed
- The building itself was demolished beyond repair

Production - Complete loss of production due to


desire for increased sales

Sustainability - The Sampoong Department Store has


no sustainable future (i.e. No assets or
capital to work with and extremely
negative public relationships.
Recommendations
Long-Term
 Implement overall safety & loss management program
 Implement company policy statement on safety & loss management
 Implement a safety culture
 Form team to ensure adherence to all safety policies
 Perform regular safety inspections during construction and operation
 Respect opinions of hired contractors & engineers
 Ensure that hired management and employees are responsible & competent
 Conduct risk analyses when confronted with possible hazards
 Create and test evacuation plan

Short-Term
 Any changes made to design during and after building construction must not
jeopardize the integrity of building and must adhere to standards
 All materials used for construction of the building must adhere to standards
 Perform risk analysis if any changes are to be made to structure after completion
 Perform risk analysis upon sight of any structural degradation
References
1) Sampoong Department Store Collapse. (2010, October 6). Received from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampoong_Department_Store_collapse

2) Wilson, L., McCutcheon, D. (2003). Industrial Health, Safety and Risk Management – The Integrated
Approach. In Industrial Safety and Risk Management (Chapter 1). Retrieved from
http://books.google.ca/books?id=_Rr_BRvp30EC&lpg=PA5&ots=fNcOnZE8My&dq=peap%20people
%20environment%20assets%20production&pg=PA6#v=onepage&q&f=false

3) Oshiro-Momohara, A., Watanabe, B., Miyahara, R. Sampoong Department Store Collapse [PDF
Document]. Retrieved from http://students.seattleu.edu/watanab5/web/Sampoong%20Powerpoint.ppt

4) National Geographic. (2006). Seconds from Disaster – Superstore Collapse. United States: National
Geographic Society and Darlow Smithson Productions. Retrieved from: previously published
information in the public domain.

5) Sampoong Department Store Collapse. (2010, October 16). Wikipedia. Retrieved October 19, 2010,
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampoong#investigation

6) Winkel, G. (2010). Faculty of Engineering – ENGG 404 – Engineering Safety and Risk Management –
Fall Term 2010. University of Alberta, Custom Courseware.

7) Gardner, N.J., Huh, J., Chung, L. (2002). Lessons from the Sampoong Department Store Collapse.
Cement and Concrete Composites 24 (2002) 523-529.

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