Sampoong Department Store

On June 29, 1995, the Sampoong Department Store (Korean: ; Hanja: ) in Seocho District, Seoul, South Korea, collapsed due to a structural failure. The collapse killed 502 people and injured 937, making it the largest peacetime disaster in South Korean history. It was the deadliest non-deliberate modern building collapse until the 2013 Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh. Construction on the store began in 1987 and was completed in 1990. During construction, the chairman of Sampoong Group's construction division, Lee Joon, wanted changes to the concrete support columns that introduced structural concerns. When the company's general contractor resisted these changes, Lee ultimately fired them and used his own in-house construction company to complete the building. Investigators blamed the collapse primarily on this and other unsafe modifications made during the building's construction and lifespan. On December 27, 1995, Lee Joon was convicted of criminal negligence and sentenced to 10 years and 6 months imprisonment. His sentence was later lessened to 7 years and 6 months on appeal. His son, Lee Han-sang, was convicted of corruption and accidental homicide and sentenced to 7 years imprisonment. Additionally, two city planners from the Seocho District were convicted of taking bribes.

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