Yoo Byeong-gyu, front, chief of HDC Hyundai Development Company, and the company's other executives bow in apology, Wednesday, at the construction site of an apartment complex in Gwangju, for the partial collapse the previous day of an apartment building which the company has been building. Yonhap

By Bahk Eun-ji

The Gwangju Metropolitan Government has ordered a halt on all construction ongoing by HDC Hyundai Development Company in the city, following the partial collapse of an apartment building, Tuesday, the second deadly building collapse attributed to the developer in the southwestern city in about seven months.

Rescue authorities resumed search operations for six missing workers, Wednesday.

The suspension of construction came a day after the exterior wall of the apartment building between the 28th and 34th floors crumbled at 3:46 p.m. Three workers trapped in a container below were rescued, and one of them was hospitalized for injuries.

The city government said, Wednesday, it ordered suspension of all construction projects being carried out by the company. HDC is currently building apartments in three locations in downtown Gwangju, and they were scheduled to be completed between July and October this year.

"We'll investigate the cause of the collapse in cooperation with the police and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and hold the company accountable for all legal and administrative responsibilities in order to root out any safety issues at their construction sites," a city official said.