Gangdong-gu Sinkhole Area "Weak Ground"... Seoul City Commissioned Report from 2 Years Ago Exists

On the 25th, a fire department access control line was installed at the site of a large ground subsidence that occurred the previous day on the road near Daemyeong Elementary School in Gangdong-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

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Two years ago, a Seoul city commissioned report revealed that the ground near Myeongil-dong, Gangdong-gu, Seoul, where a large sinkhole occurred, is weak.

According to the 'Seoul Urban Railway Line 9 Phase 4 Extension Project Construction Underground Safety Impact Assessment Service' report submitted to Rep. Park Yong-gap of the Democratic Party of Korea by the city on the 28th, the area near the accident site was analyzed to have weak ground and significant subsidence.

The report, commissioned by the city in 2021 and completed in 2023, was created to assess the risk of ground subsidence due to the extension construction of Subway Line 9.

The report stated, "The fault zone section near station 939 at the accident site has relatively large subsidence, so when excavation work or temporary facility installation and dismantling are carried out in this section, precise construction is required to ensure safe construction by paying close attention to measurement results."

It explained that since the rock has been deformed and its continuity broken, and the ground is weak, safety must be secured during tunnel construction and other works.

The report also explained, "During structure construction, the curing period of concrete must be sufficiently secured to fully develop strength before the next construction phase proceeds, and the construction plan must be strictly followed."

Meanwhile, the city itself had classified this area as grade 5, the highest risk level for sinkholes.

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