Gwangju: The Supreme Court on Thursday confirmed guilty verdicts against three construction officials over a fatal building collapse in the southwestern city of Gwangju four years ago. The five-story building collapsed during demolition work on June 9, 2021, falling onto a nearby bus and leaving nine people dead and eight others seriously injured.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the court upheld a lower court's sentence of 2 1/2 years against a 51-year-old surnamed Cho, who operated an excavator at the site during the collapse, and a two-year term against a 32-year-old site manager, surnamed Kang. The court also confirmed a 1 1/2-year term, suspended for three years, against a 63-year-old site supervisor, surnamed Cha, who did not carry out an inspection of the site.

All three were indicted on charges of death by occupational negligence and violating the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The court said it did not find fault with the lower court's ruling in terms of its legal rationale.