Police Conduct Search and Seizure at Osan City Hall and Hyundai Engineering & Construction over Retaining Wall Collapse

by Lim Chunhan

Published 22 Jul.2025 09:19(KST)

Updated 22 Jul.2025 13:00(KST)

The police have launched a compulsory investigation into Osan City Hall and Hyundai Engineering & Construction in connection with the collapse of the retaining wall at Gajang Intersection in Osan, Gyeonggi Province.

At 7:04 PM on the 16th, a 10-meter-high retaining wall on the overpass at Gajang Intersection in Osan, Gyeonggi Province, collapsed onto the road, crushing two vehicles. Firefighters are conducting rescue operations. Photo by Yonhap News

The special investigation team of the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency announced to the media on the 22nd, "Starting from 9:00 AM, we are executing search and seizure warrants at three locations, including Osan City Hall and the construction company."

Previously, at 7:04 PM on the 16th, a 10-meter-high retaining wall on the overpass toward Suwon at Gajang Intersection in Gajang-dong, Osan, collapsed, crushing a passenger car passing under the overpass and killing the male driver in his 40s.

At 7:19 AM on the day before the accident, the Road Traffic Division of Osan City received a civil complaint stating, "The ground on the right side of the second lane is subsiding. There are concerns about a collapse if rainwater infiltrates." On the day of the accident, at around 4:00 PM, a pothole several tens of centimeters in diameter appeared in the Suwon-bound lane of the overpass at Gajang Intersection, prompting the city to close two lanes from 5:30 PM. However, the road beneath the overpass was not closed.

The police are keeping all possibilities open in their investigation, including whether the Serious Accidents Punishment Act for Public Disasters applies. A serious public disaster refers to an accident caused by defects in the design, manufacture, installation, or management of public facilities or public transportation, which results in at least one death or at least ten injuries requiring more than two months of treatment. For public facilities, a road qualifies if it is at least 100 meters in length, and a retaining wall qualifies if the combined length of sections that are at least 5 meters high totals 100 meters or more.