Audit Launched on Rebar Omission at GTX-A Samsung Station... Seoul City Says "Hyundai E&C Voluntarily Reported It"

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Conducts Audit of Seoul Metropolitan Government and National Railroad Authority

In connection with the omission of rebar in the GTX-A Samsung Station section, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has begun an audit of both the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the National Railroad Authority. Meanwhile, the Seoul Metropolitan Government has disclosed the timeline following its recognition of the construction error.

On May 16, the Seoul Metropolitan Government released an explanatory statement, saying, "Hyundai Engineering & Construction, the contractor, voluntarily reported to the Seoul Metropolitan Government in November last year after discovering the omission of some rebar during its own quality inspection." The area in question concerns the fifth basement floor pillars of the underground complex transfer center structure near Samsung Station on Yeongdong-daero. Hyundai Engineering & Construction and the supervising consortium reported the relevant details to the city on November 10 last year.

Seoul Metropolitan Government Building, Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Subsequently, the supervising consortium reviewed reinforcement measures for the pillars in December of the same year and submitted them to the city. The Seoul Metropolitan Government explained that it developed a reinforcement implementation plan after consulting with external experts. Until March of this year, the contractor, supervising consortium, and external experts jointly conducted on-site inspections and reviewed the adequacy of the reinforcement measures.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government reported the matter to the National Railroad Authority on April 24 and to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on April 29. The Ministry conducted an emergency safety inspection from the date it received the report until May 8. The city stated that it confirmed structural safety would be improved beyond the original design standards after reinforcement. Hyundai Engineering & Construction will bear the additional construction cost of approximately 3 billion won.

The GTX-A line aims to connect Seoul Station and Suseo Station, with non-stop service through Samsung Station targeted for completion within this year. The goal for opening Samsung Station as a stopping service is the second half of next year.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is currently investigating why it took several months for the Seoul Metropolitan Government to report the construction error to the central government after it was first recognized.

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