Seoul City: "Repeatedly Reported Missing Rebar Issue at GTX Samseong Station to Railroad Authority"

"Six Reports in Six Months Covering 51 Construction Details"

Seoul Submits Official Supervision Reports on Missing Rebar

Final Reinforcement Plan Confirmed in April... Shared with Ministry of Land and Others

The Seoul Metropolitan Government reiterated that it had repeatedly notified the National Railroad Authority of the construction error involving missing rebar at Samseong Station on the GTX-A metropolitan express railway line.

On May 20, Seoul city spokesperson Lee Minkyoung stated, "Regarding the construction of Samseong Station on the GTX-A line, the city has strictly adhered to the principle that there can be no compromise on citizen safety under any circumstances, implementing necessary safety measures and responding thoroughly."

A view of the underground space complex development site on Yeongdong-daero, part of the GTX-A line in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News.

She further explained, "After being informed of the construction error, Seoul City reported the progress of 51 construction details, reinforcement measures, and safety plans to the National Railroad Authority on six occasions over the course of about six months. During this process, the Authority did not raise any objections or identify issues. If, despite repeated official reports, they failed to properly review these matters, it constitutes a serious oversight in management and supervision, as well as a failure to fulfill their contractual responsibilities and management obligations."

According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, it submitted multiple official documents to the National Railroad Authority from November last year to January this year, including a supervision report detailing missing rebar in the columns of Samseong Station on the GTX-A line. After being notified of the issue by the contractor, the city conducted an on-site safety inspection.

A structural engineer reviewed the structural safety and concluded that the load currently applied to the columns is within the capacity that the building columns can safely support, meaning there is no structural safety issue. Based on this assessment, the city continued construction and reviewed factors such as structural stability, constructability, and maintenance impacts when considering reinforcement methods. On March 17, after receiving the contractor's final column reinforcement construction plan, the city reviewed its applicability on site. The final reinforcement plan was confirmed in April, and the details were shared with the National Railroad Authority on April 24 and with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on April 29.

Spokesperson Lee also explained, "By March of this year, the city held advisory meetings and conducted on-site inspections with external experts. Based on these, the city plans to implement safety measures that exceed existing design standards, including structural and external reinforcement measures such as the use of steel plates and fireproof coatings, which are stronger than the original rebar proposed by the contractor."

She emphasized, "To ensure that non-stop passage through Samseong Station on the GTX-A line and the subsequent connection of the entire line proceed without issue, the city is mobilizing all administrative and technical capabilities and closely cooperating with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and other relevant agencies." Lee further pointed out, "Nevertheless, the Democratic Party of Korea and some media outlets are amplifying groundless anxiety and political attacks without sufficiently verifying even the basic technical and administrative facts related to the construction."

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