The 123-story Lotte World 2 Tower, a signature entertainment facility currently under construction in eastern Seoul, was found to have 127 cracks in its columns, but officials claimed that they will not affect its safety or stability.

Concerns nevertheless persisted as reports submitted by the Architectural Institute of Korea and the Korea Infrastructure Safety Corporation were inconsistent with each other.

SBS CNBC, a local cable broadcaster, reported Friday that the two organizations gave different analyses on the number of cracks found in the main columns of Lotte World 2 but that the metropolitan office approved of the construction.

According to the final report recently submitted by Lotte Engineering & Construction and the AIK, a total of 127 cracks had been observed on 45 surfaces of the building’s 24 “mega columns.”

The KISTEC, however, said that the cracks existed on 55 surfaces of 21 columns, although officials later admitted that they had made a mistake in the final report.

Despite the discord, the safety report was approved last month by the Seoul Metropolitan City Council, which enabled the builder to push ahead with the construction.

“Though the report said that the cracks do not affect the safety of the building, the approval was inappropriate as the details were not exact,” said city council member Kim Moon-soo.

Construction of the building kicked off in 2009, and is expected to be completed in 2015.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)