Prime Minister Han Recommends President Yoon to Dismiss Happy City Commissioner over 'Osong Underpass Disaster'

Prime Minister Han and Police Chief Also Expected to Request Personnel Actions
Presidential Office Official: "Yoon Aware of Intent Behind Dismissal Recommendation"

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on the 31st recommended the dismissal of Lee Sang-rae, Administrator of the Administrative City Construction Agency (Happy City Administrator, Vice Minister level), in connection with the disaster at Gungpyeong 2nd Underpass in Osong-eup, Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju-si, Chungbuk, which resulted in 24 casualties.

According to the Presidential Office, Prime Minister Han explained his opinion on this personnel action during the weekly meeting with President Yoon Suk-yeol held at the Yongsan Presidential Office on the same day.

Prime Minister Han also mentioned his intention to request personnel actions within this week from the relevant appointing authorities regarding the Chungbuk Deputy Governor, Cheongju Deputy Mayor, Chief of Heungdeok Police Station in Cheongju, and the acting head of the Chungbuk Fire Headquarters at the time.

The appointing authorities for these positions are as follows: the Minister of the Interior and Safety for the Chungbuk Deputy Governor, the Mayor of Cheongju for the Cheongju Deputy Mayor, the Commissioner of the National Police Agency for the Chief of Heungdeok Police Station, and the Commissioner of the Fire Agency for the acting head of the Chungbuk Fire Headquarters.

However, it is known that President Yoon did not immediately respond to Prime Minister Han’s recommendation. A Presidential Office official explained, "President Yoon is fully aware of the intent behind Prime Minister Han’s dismissal recommendation," and added, "The timing for the personnel action has not yet been decided."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Office for Government Policy Coordination conducted an inspection investigation from the 17th to the 26th regarding Chungbuk Province, Cheongju City, Happy City, Chungbuk Police Agency, and Chungbuk Fire Headquarters in relation to this accident.

The inspection concluded that the disaster was a man-made accident caused by the Happy City Agency’s failure to properly manage and supervise the construction company’s illegal and substandard construction work related to the temporary embankment construction of Mihocheon Bridge.

While carrying out the "Osong?Cheongju (Section 2) Road Expansion Project" near Miho River close to Gungpyeong 2nd Underpass, the construction company unlawfully demolished the embankment under Mihocheon Bridge and built a substandard temporary embankment, which was the cause. Local governments and others failed to properly monitor and supervise this. Due to the poor condition of the embankment, heavy rainfall caused the Miho River to flood, and the underpass about 550 meters away was submerged, resulting in the disaster.

Moreover, a flood advisory had already been issued at 5:20 p.m. the day before the accident at the Mihocheon Bridge location, and a higher-level flood warning was issued at 4:10 a.m. on the day of the accident, but neither the local government nor the fire authorities took necessary measures.

Residents who sensed the danger while the temporary embankment was barely holding reported multiple times to emergency numbers 112 and 119, as revealed by the Office for Government Policy Coordination’s inspection results.

The Office for Government Policy Coordination has requested prosecution investigations for 36 officials related to Chungbuk Province, Cheongju City, Happy City, Chungbuk Police Agency, and Chungbuk Fire Headquarters in connection with this incident.

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