GS Engineering and Construction and four partners have been hit with an eight-month shutdown over the collapse of an underground parking garage at an apartment building in Incheon last year.

The land ministry said on Thursday that the administrative order, effective April 1, was imposed for GS and a four-company consortium working on an apartment complex in Incheon's Geomdan new town area.

The suspension was handed down over poor construction as stipulated under the Framework Act on the Construction Industry.

Upon the ministry's request, the Seoul Metropolitan Government separately suspended GS Engineering for one month earlier over carelessness in quality tests, while reviewing an additional month dishonesty in safety inspections.

In a statement, GS Engineering apologized to the public with a sense of responsibility as the main builder, but announced plans to take legal action against the suspension.