Dong-Ah loses license

Dong-Ah loses license

SEOUL (AFP): South Korea's construction giant Dong-Ah Group
yesterday lost one of its licenses as a penalty for shoddy
construction of a main Seoul bridge which collapsed in 1994,
killing 32 rush-hour commuters.

The construction and transportation ministry said it had
withdrawn Dong-Ah Construction Industrial Co's license to build
steel structures.

The ministry's landmark decision, which affects only the
domestic market, followed an appeals court ruling in June which
found 11 people, including three Dong-Ah officials, guilty of
slipshod construction and negligence.

The decision seriously damaged the image of Dong-Ah, the main
contractor of Libya's Great Manmade Waterway project and builder
of the 15-year-old Sungsoo Bridge which collapsed in October
1994, killing 32 and injuring dozens.

But Dong-Ah officials said their business at home and abroad
would not be affected because the ministry allowed the company to
retain other key construction licenses.