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The construction and transportation ministry said it had withdrawn Dong-Ah Construction Industrial Co's license to build steel structures.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