Seen is the partially collapsed apartment building at HDC's construction site in Gwangju, Wednesday. Yonhap

By Baek Byung-yeul

Seven months after a building collapse incident that killed nine people at HDC Hyundai Development Company's redevelopment project in Gwangju, the company is embroiled in another collapse accident in the southwestern city.

On Tuesday, the exterior walls of a high-rise building under construction collapsed at the company's apartment complex construction site in the southwestern city. Following the accident, six construction workers are still missing as of 5 p.m., Wednesday.

Due to safety concerns, Gwangju City Government ordered HDC temporarily to suspend every construction project underway in the city, Wednesday.

"We've decided to order the suspension of construction at all of HDC's construction sites in Gwangju. We will cooperate with the land ministry and police to investigate the cause of the accident and strictly hold the company accountable for all legal and administrative responsibilities," Park Nam-eon, the head of the city's disaster and safety countermeasures office, said in a media briefing.

Both accidents occurred on the sites of HDC development projects, but the industry view is that it will be difficult to hold the company legally responsible under the newly established Severe Disaster Act that imposes legal responsibility on the CEO or owner of a company that caused accidents at industrial sites.