Jinju City, Sinkhole Occurs in Sangpyeong Industrial Complex, Sangpyeong-dong Due to Aging Wastewater Pipeline Damage

On the afternoon of the 4th at around 3:30 PM, a sinkhole measuring 3.4 meters wide, 1.8 meters long, and 3.3 meters deep occurred on the road in front of Volvo Construction Equipment in Sangpyeong-dong, Jinju-si, Gyeongnam.

The city immediately established a cooperative system with related agencies such as Jinju Police Station, KT, and Korea Electric Power Corporation upon receiving the accident report, and urgently deployed one excavator, two dredgers, one generator, and one crane to begin site restoration. Nighttime restoration work was also carried out to minimize inconvenience to citizens.

Mayor Jo Gyu-il is inspecting the sinkhole site in Sangpyeong-dong.

A city official stated that there were no casualties or property damage from the accident, and the cause is presumed to be soil erosion due to damage to an over 30-year-old wastewater pipeline within the Sangpyeong Industrial Complex.

Mayor Jo Gyu-il inspected the site where the sinkhole occurred and urged, “Complete the urgent restoration of the sinkhole area as soon as possible and implement safety measures until full restoration is achieved to ensure no harm comes to citizens.”

Meanwhile, this section is where an over 30-year-old wastewater pipeline is installed within the Sangpyeong Industrial Complex. The city had continuously requested the Ministry of Environment to carry out a maintenance project for the aging wastewater pipeline in the Sangpyeong Industrial Complex, anticipating sinkhole occurrences in this area. In July 2020, the project was approved (with a budget of 43.2 billion KRW), and the Ministry of Environment, Korea Environment Corporation, and Jinju City signed an agreement. Construction began in January 2023 and is planned to be completed by February 2026.

After the emergency restoration of the accident site, the city plans to prioritize the wastewater pipeline maintenance project in the affected area and will thoroughly implement the maintenance project for the wastewater pipeline section in the Sangpyeong Industrial Complex to prevent future sinkhole accidents.

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