Jung Won-oh: "Seoul's GTX Rebar Omission Report Was for Avoiding Responsibility... A Prime Example of Disregard for Safety"

Calls on Oh Se-hoon to Clarify When the Initial Report Was Received

Jung Won-oh, the Democratic Party of Korea's Seoul mayoral candidate, criticized the omission of rebar at the GTX-A Samseong Station in the Seoul metropolitan express railway project on the 18th, stating, "Is it considered a report if only two or three lines about this are buried in the 400-page monthly construction project management report? This was merely submitted after the fact to avoid responsibility," adding, "This is a prime example of a disregard for safety."

Jung Won-oh, the Democratic Party of Korea's Seoul mayoral candidate, and Oh Se-hoon, the People Power Party's Seoul mayoral candidate, are attending the '46th Anniversary of the May 18 Democratic Movement Seoul Commemorative Ceremony' held at Seoul City Hall in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 18th, exchanging their views. 2026.5.18 Photo by Kang Jinhyung

After announcing his policy pledges in front of Seoul City Hall that afternoon, Jung told reporters, "Such critical issues must be reported face-to-face," and emphasized, "I hope Oh Se-hoon, the opposing candidate, seriously reflects on why accidents keep occurring, such as the Han River bus incident, as well as recurring sinkholes and flooding accidents."

He further asserted, "Constantly avoiding and concealing safety issues is symptomatic of a lack of safety awareness," stressing, "Even the smallest safety concerns must be transparently disclosed."

Jung stated, "The party responsible for construction and supervision is the Seoul Metropolitan Government, and the person ultimately in charge is Mayor Oh Se-hoon—this is clear," adding, "There was a clear error at the supervision stage, which I suspect is the reason for the delay in reporting to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport." He continued, "I ask Oh Se-hoon again: When did you first receive the report, and what measures did you take after being informed? Please clarify these points."

Jeong Wono, the Seoul mayoral candidate from the Democratic Party of Korea, held a press conference on the 18th in front of Seoul City Hall in Jung-gu, Seoul, announcing his housing-related pledges. Photo by Yonhap News

Previously, Hyundai Engineering & Construction detected a construction error related to missing rebar at the GTX-A Samseong Station complex transfer center in November last year and reported it to the Seoul Metropolitan Government. It was revealed that rebar was missing in 50 out of 80 columns in the underground fifth-floor platform section of the station. The Seoul Metropolitan Government reviewed the appropriateness of the reinforcement plan by holding advisory meetings with external experts and conducting on-site inspections through March of this year, and reported the results to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport last month. The Ministry announced it had initiated an emergency on-site inspection and audit in response.

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