▲ Sampoong department store collapse

Recently, the Sampoong Department Store collapse has been an issue again after one South Korean drama showed this incident. Sampoong Department Store collapsed because of poor and illegal construction. Because of this incident, 502 people died, and there were 937 people who were injured. This shocking incident showed how dangerous corruption is and how important engineering ethics are.

▲ ethics

Engineering ethics are the moral principles of engineering. In the 19th century, as many cities developed, engineering rose as a distinct profession. The 19th century was the time that engineering developed rapidly. However, the rapid development of engineering started to show some problems. There had been a series of significant structural failures such as bridge collapse. In South Korea, aside from the Sampoong Department Store collapse, there were several structural failures, too. Seongsu Bridge is one example. Seongsu Bridge collapsed because of a welding defect. Based on these serious incidents, people started to make efforts to promote engineering ethics.

So, what are the ethics that the engineers have to follow? Engineers should use their technologies and knowledge for the safety and welfare of the public. Engineers have to continue their profession for their development. They also have to take responsibility for their mistakes that cause accidents. In addition, law abidance is very important. For instance, there were corruption scandals in the case of the Sampoong Department Store. So, they did not have a restriction during construction. This kind of situation should never happen again.

Engineering ethics are needed for respect, human rights, public interest, and protection of the environment. Engineers also have to think about engineering ethics not only for them but also for all humanity.

June 20th, 2020

by Kim Yerin