Location: Seoul, South Korea 🇰🇷
Story:
In the 1990s, Seoul's Sampoong Department Store was a glittering palace of commerce, drawing 40,000 visitors daily. But behind its pink-marble facade lay a fatal flaw: greed. Owner Lee Joon had altered the building's original design from a four-story residential complex to a five-story commercial mall,against all engineering advice. He ordered crucial support pillars removed to make way for escalators, added a heavy fifth-floor restaurant wing, and even installed thick underfloor heating. The structure groaned under four times its intended weight. 😥
Twist:
On June 29, 1995, cracks spread across the ceiling. Engineers urged an immediate evacuation. Lee Joon refused,the day's revenue was too high. He and other executives quietly left the building by late afternoon. At 5:52 PM, the entire structure pancaked in 20 seconds, burying 1,500 people. Rescue efforts lasted days; 502 died, 937 were injured. At trial, Lee Joon showed no remorse, lamenting only his financial loss. He received just 7.5 years in prison. But the tragedy forced South Korea to confront its corrupt construction culture, a nationwide inspection found 98% of buildings unsafe. Sampoong's collapse became the catalyst for sweeping safety reforms, a grim monument to the truth that when profit is placed above people, the ground itself can become a grave. 💣