The Seoul Metropolitan Government said it had reported the omission of main rebar in columns at the GTX-A Samseong Station construction site to the Korea Rail Network Authority three times since November last year. The city explained that it had not failed to report the issue, addressing the recent controversy over alleged reporting omissions.
Lim Chun-geun, head of the Seoul Urban Infrastructure Headquarters, appeared before the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee on the morning of the 18th. When Rep. Oh Ki-hyung of the Democratic Party of Korea asked about the reason for the reporting omission, Lim replied, "After receiving the report on the matter from the contractor Hyundai Engineering & Construction on November 10 last year, we have submitted monthly construction management reports in accordance with the consignment agreement with the Korea Rail Network Authority." He added, "We notified the Rail Network Authority of the relevant matter three times by including it in the construction management reports."
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the city sent official documents to the Korea Rail Network Authority, the consignor of the GTX-A project, three times between November last year and January this year. The reporting dates were November 13 and December 12 last year, and January 16 this year. The official documents contained supervision report content that included the column main rebar omission.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government said it conducted on-site safety inspections immediately after being notified of the problem by the contractor. It explained that after a review by structural engineers determined that the load currently acting on the columns was within the range the structure could withstand, construction continued. It added that during the application of the reinforcement method, structural stability, constructability, and future maintenance impacts were comprehensively reviewed.
The contractor subsequently submitted a final construction plan for column reinforcement on March 17, and the Seoul Metropolitan Government finalized the reinforcement plan last month after reviewing on-site applicability. The city said the relevant content was shared with the Korea Rail Network Authority on the 24th of last month and with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 29th.
In response, the Korea Rail Network Authority issued a separate explanatory statement that day, countering, "The content related to the rebar omission was only included in part of the work log within the vast construction project management report." The authority added, "Since the relevant content was not in the main summary or the construction failure case sections, it was virtually difficult to recognize." The authority claimed that Seoul City effectively attempted to convey the relevant content while requesting attendance at a column reinforcement advisory meeting via email on the 24th, and that it grasped the specific facts only on April 29, after the authority strongly requested a report to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
The Korea Rail Network Authority said, "It is very regrettable that the Seoul Metropolitan Government did not directly report or consult on a serious defect that could affect the non-stop opening of GTX-A Samseong Station until the end of last month," and announced that it would thoroughly verify Seoul City's reinforcement plan and the safety of existing structures. In contrast, the Seoul Metropolitan Government explained that the matter "was reported through reports because it was not included as a serious accident as defined by law," describing it as "a case in which the current safety management system functioned to detect construction errors in advance and proceed with reinforcement procedures."
