Rescue crews were on the scene within minutes of the disaster, with cranes and other heavy equipment being brought in the next day.
However, Seoul's then mayor, Choi Byung Yol, announced the rescue would be called off, due to fears the unstable remains of the store would collapse.
Massive protests, especially from friends and relatives of those still missing, compelled officials to continue looking for survivors, with the remains of the store being steadied by guy cables.
At one point, Korea Telecom was transmitting a signal, every half hour, designed to trigger cellphones or pagers that trapped survivors might be carrying.

After nearly a week, the focus was on removing the debris, but construction crews were careful to check for victims.

Two days after the collapse, some officials said that anybody who was still in the building must have already died; therefore, further efforts would be made only towards "recovery", not "rescue" despite the possibility of victims being able to survive for much longer.
Despite the sweltering heat, some who were not rescued in the first few days avoided dehydration by drinking rainwater.
The last to be rescued, 19-year-old Park Seung-hyun (Korean: 박승현, Hanja: 朴昇賢), was pulled from the wreckage 17 days after the collapse with a few scratches.
18-year-old Yoo Ji-hwan was pulled out after nearly 12 days.
A man rescued after 9 days reported that other trapped survivors had drowned from the rain and from the water used for fire suppression.
Rescue crews were on the scene within minutes of the disaster, with cranes and other heavy equipment being brought in the next day. However, Seoul's then mayor, Choi Byung Yol, announced the rescue would be called off, due to fears the unstable remains of the store would collapse. Massive protests, especially from friends and relatives of those still missing, compelled officials to continue looking for survivors, with the remains of the store being steadied by guy cables. At one point, Korea Telecom was transmitting a signal, every half hour, designed to trigger cellphones or pagers that trapped survivors might be carrying.
After nearly a week, the focus was on removing the debris, but construction crews were careful to check for victims.
Two days after the collapse, some officials said that anybody who was still in the building must have already died; therefore, further efforts would be made only towards "recovery", not "rescue" despite the possibility of victims being able to survive for much longer. Despite the sweltering heat, some who were not rescued in the first few days avoided dehydration by drinking rainwater. The last to be rescued, 19-year-old Park Seung-hyun (Korean: 박승현, Hanja: 朴昇賢), was pulled from the wreckage 17 days after the collapse with a few scratches. 18-year-old Yoo Ji-hwan was pulled out after nearly 12 days. A man rescued after 9 days reported that other trapped survivors had drowned from the rain and from the water used for fire suppression.
Sampoong Department Store collapse