Experts blame rushed work for tunnel collapse

Construction progress at section 5-2 of the Sinansan Line underground tunnel in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province, where a ground collapse killed one worker, was more than 30 percent points behind other sections before the accident. Some experts suspect that the schedule was pushed forward too aggressively following consultations with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, potentially leading to unsafe construction practices.

According to NextRail, the private operator of the Sinansan Line project, the 44.7-kilometer double-track railway connecting Seoul’s Yeouido with the cities of Ansan and Siheung in Gyeonggi has been divided into six sections since work began in 2019. As of March 28, progress on section 5-2 stood at 58.32 percent. That is over 30 percentage points behind section 6, which connects Wonsi in Ansan to West Hwaseong and is the most advanced at 88.85 percent. Excluding sections 3-1 (54.63 percent), 3-2 (51.89 percent), and section 7 (19.23 percent), which mostly involves finishing work, section 5-2 had the slowest progress.

NextRail initially pushed back the opening target by four years to April 2029 after the Board of Audit and Inspection found the ground conditions in section 5 were extremely poor. However, following consultations with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the project operator, the timeline was abruptly moved up by more than two years and publicly rescheduled to late next year. A company official said, “We decided to accelerate the schedule in order to open the line as soon as possible.”

Experts are raising concerns that shortening the construction period by 28 months may have resulted in excessive pressure on the site. A member of the Korean Tunneling Association said, “Damage to the tunnel pillar indicates that a collapse had already begun. Work should have stopped immediately, but the shortened deadline likely delayed proper response.” Na Joon-hee, a professor of transportation policy at Korea National University of Transportation, noted, “When working within tight budgets and timelines, projects sometimes proceed by cutting back on ground reinforcement or safety inspections.” Police are currently investigating whether safety inspections and reinforcement procedures were properly carried out.


이경진 기자 lkj@donga.com