Roads Managed by Local Governments, Embankments by Happy City Agency... Who Is Responsible for the Osong Disaster?

Cause of Accident ① Temporary Embankment Collapse ② Traffic Not Controlled
Office for Government Policy Coordination Begins Investigation into Disaster Cause

As the Gungpyeong Underpass in Osong-eup, Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju-si, Chungbuk, was flooded causing casualties, administrative authorities are exchanging disputes over the responsibility for the disaster.

Since Osong Station is the gateway to Sejong City, the Administrative City Construction Agency (ACCA), responsible for the construction of the administrative city, was conducting bridge expansion work near the site, while the local governments of Chungbuk Province and Cheongju City, which have jurisdiction, were in charge of road management, dividing the responsibilities related to the accident.

According to the provisional damage status compiled by the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters as of 11 a.m. on the 17th, the death toll from the Osong underpass accident was 13.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the morning of the 15th, around 8:40 a.m., about 60,000 tons of water rushed into the Osong underpass in an instant as the temporary embankment of the nearby Miho River collapsed. This 430-meter underpass was filled with water within three minutes.

Bridge expansion work was underway near the accident site on the Miho River. Although there was an existing embankment, part of it was demolished and a temporary embankment was built during the process of erecting piers for the Osong-Cheongju (Section 2) road expansion project.

There is regret that if the temporary embankment had been constructed more sturdily, the overflow of the Miho River could have been prevented. Ham Eun-gu, a professor in the Department of Fire and Disaster Safety at Korea Open Cyber University, explained on SBS Radio that day, "Although a precise investigation is needed, based on various information, it appears that it was not the embankment that burst but the temporarily built embankment that collapsed," adding, "The temporary embankment was poorly constructed, causing it to collapse and wash away."

The ACCA, which supervised this project, explained, "The temporary embankment was constructed up to the maximum height under the bridge, 0.96 meters higher than the design flood level for a 100-year return period (28.78m), and reinforcement work was carried out on the day, but due to the concentrated heavy rain, the water volume rapidly increased in a short time, causing overflow."

However, local residents claim that the bridge expansion work was the cause of this disaster. They say that before the construction, it was rare for the embankment to break and cause river flooding.

Jang Tae-sun, the head of Seopyeong 2-ri, Gangoe-myeon, Osong-eup, appeared on MBC Radio that day and said, "There was almost no damage to our area due to flooding of the Miho River caused by rainfall," adding, "The embankment broke in the section where the bridge construction was done, allowing water to enter, so residents believe this was a man-made disaster caused by poor response."

Drainage work continues in the early morning of the 17th at Gungpyeong 2 Underpass in Osong-eup, Cheongju-si, Chungbuk, which was flooded due to the collapse of the Miho Stream embankment. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Another cause of the disaster pointed out is the lack of road control. Road control is the responsibility of the authority managing the road under Article 76 of the Road Act. Since the flooded underpass belongs to Local Road No. 508, Chungbuk Province and Cheongju City should have made decisions on traffic control and requested police cooperation for control.

A flood warning had already been issued for the Miho River at 4:10 a.m. on the 15th, four hours before the accident, and the Geumgang Flood Control Office had notified that traffic control was necessary, but the administrative authorities did not control the underpass.

Professor Jung Chang-sam of the Department of Smart Construction and Disaster Prevention at Induk University emphasized the importance of local governments' roles in disaster situations such as heavy rain. In an interview with MBC Radio that day, Professor Jung said, "Considering that there was river embankment construction nearby and a heavy rain warning was issued for the Miho River, the local government should have proactively blocked traffic in advance," adding, "Local governments need to identify risks within their jurisdiction and prepare in advance, but those aspects were somewhat lacking."

Currently, the Office for Government Policy Coordination has launched an inspection to determine the cause of the underpass flooding disaster. They have started securing basic data on all risk reports and follow-up measures received by the metropolitan and local governments, police, and fire departments in charge of the site.

They also plan to review the safety measures taken by the relevant local governments, police, and fire departments to clarify why traffic control at the Gungpyeong 2 Underpass was not properly implemented in a timely manner before the accident, and investigate various administrative records related to the temporary embankment construction on the Miho Stream.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.