A Seoul Metro Line 1 train operator drove for three hours while intoxicated, and freight trains marked for scrapping continued to run on the rails, exposing systemic failures in railroad safety management. Construction on the Shin-Ansan Line in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province—where two collapses occurred last year—also continued in violation of ground subsidence and groundwater level standards, according to an audit.
The Board of Audit and Inspection announced the results of its "Railroad Facility Safety Management Inspection" on the 9th. The audit, conducted from April to June last year, uncovered 45 violations.
Five freight trains confirmed for scrapping following precision safety inspections were deployed on 22 occasions due to staff negligence. In another case, maintenance personnel and schedules were changed without Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport approval, leading to mechanical failures.
The drunk operator incident also drew scrutiny. On March 19 last year, a safety inspector from Korea Railroad Corporation's public safety division detected a strong smell of alcohol while checking a train cab at Bucheon Station on Line 1. However, the inspector neither administered a breathalyzer test immediately nor reported the incident to authorities.
The inspector only used an alcohol detection device, requested an internal investigation, and left the scene. The internal investigation was conducted 160 minutes after the initial detection. During this time, the operator drove the train from Dongincheon Station to Guro Station for approximately 184 minutes.
The BAI noted that a crew operations team leader at one of the railroad corporation's offices also contributed to the problem by allowing the operator to self-administer the alcohol test. Installation of closed-circuit television cameras in train cabs—repeatedly demanded by the National Assembly and the BAI—remains unimplemented.
At Shin-Ansan Line construction sites, evidence emerged that work continued despite ground subsidence and groundwater level changes exceeding safety thresholds.
The BAI stated that although the ground sank by up to 317 millimeters or rose by 233 millimeters, all measurements were falsely recorded as "within 10 millimeters."
Standards for measurement management requiring Ministry approval were also arbitrarily relaxed starting January 2021. The Shin-Ansan Line experienced consecutive collapse accidents at construction sites in Gwangmyeong and Seoul's Yeongdeungpo District last year.