In the mid-1980s, South Korea’s economic development lead to a boom in the construction and retail industries.
This, accompanied by the hosting of the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, lead to many construction contracts, too many for firms in Seoul to handle.
International construction firms were not allowed to sign contracts and this caused an overload on already stressed local firms. (Wearne, 2000) Nonstop contracts
lead to constant construction and eventually lax supervision as well as corruption. Mixing greed and loose supervision lead to appalling disasters and horrifying discoveries.