Ruling and Opposition Parties Clash Over 'GTX Rebar Omission'... "Safety Responsibility" vs "Political Offensive"

National Assembly Land Committee Holds Emergency Inquiry
Lee Jongwook (PPP): "Seoul Election Event"
Bok Giwang (DPK): "Irresponsible Not to Address"

The issue of missing rebar in the Samsung Station section of the Greater Seoul Metropolitan Express Railway (GTX)-A has become a contentious topic at the National Assembly.

On the 20th, the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee held a current issue inquiry regarding the rebar omission in the Samseong Station section of GTX-A. 2026.5.20 Photo by Kim Hyunmin

On May 20, the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee held an emergency current issue inquiry regarding the omission of rebar in the Samsung Station section of the GTX-A, which is part of the Yeongdong-daero Underground Space Complex Development Project. The committee summoned the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Metropolitan Transport Commission under the ministry, the National Railway Authority, the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the construction company Hyundai Engineering & Construction, and the relevant supervisory companies to the general meeting that day.

Tensions between the ruling and opposition parties flared from the outset. Lee Jongwook, a lawmaker from the People Power Party, stated during a procedural speech, "The omission of rebar in the GTX project is a technical issue, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has already decided to carry out on-site inspections and verifications." He further claimed, "This committee meeting is nothing more than a campaign event for the Seoul mayoral election and a political offensive triggered by the controversy surrounding Jung Wonoh, the Democratic Party's Seoul mayoral candidate."

In response, Bok Giwang, the secretary of the Democratic Party of Korea, said, "This is a matter directly related to the safety of Seoul citizens and, by extension, an issue for the entire country." He added, "If the relevant standing committee does not address this matter, we are neglecting our own responsibilities, which is why this committee meeting has been convened."

This incident surfaced when it was discovered that, in some columns of the fifth basement-level platform at the GTX-A Samsung Station, the main rebar was installed differently from the design. Hyundai Engineering & Construction, the contractor, stated that it voluntarily reported the missing rebar to the Seoul Metropolitan Government after discovering it during its own quality inspection in November of last year. The Seoul Metropolitan Government did not report the issue to its supervising agency, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, until five months after the initial report from the contractor, sparking criticism over its delayed response.

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