Daegu Safe Living Citizens' Alliance Suspects Illegal 3m Extension of Manchon Station Drilling Machine... Urges Thorough Investigation into Accident Causes

The Daegu Safety Life Practice Citizens' Coalition (Daegu Safe Living Citizens' Alliance) has strongly demanded a thorough investigation into the causes of the overturning accident involving a pile driver (drilling machine) that occurred at the construction site of Manchon Station in Suseong-gu, Daegu, on March 4.

The Daegu Safe Living Citizens' Alliance stated, "During the inspection of the construction site following the accident, seven violations of the Industrial Safety and Health Act were identified, including the absence of safety railings, and on March 10, those involved were reportedly booked by the authorities. In addition, it has been reported that the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the police suspect a mechanical defect in the drilling machine as a possible cause of the accident and have ordered the replacement of the equipment," adding, "There are concerns that this accident may have resulted from a combination of illegal equipment modifications and inadequate safety management, which cannot be explained by a simple mechanical defect alone. Therefore, a comprehensive reinvestigation into the cause of the accident is absolutely necessary."

Daegu Manchon Station Accident Site

The Daegu Safe Living Citizens' Alliance further stated, "According to information provided, the drilling machine used at the time of the accident is suspected to have been illegally modified by extending the original 21-meter equipment to approximately 24 meters, meaning it was lengthened by about 3 meters. In this process, it is possible that the weight of the upper equipment increased by about 2 tons. Such structural changes could significantly destabilize the equipment's center of gravity, drastically raising the risk of overturning."

The Daegu Safe Living Citizens' Alliance also pointed out, "There is a possibility that the equipment was operated with the safety pin—a core safety device that secures the machine—removed. The safety pin is a basic safety device designed to prevent the equipment from overturning and to stop the boom from falling. If the equipment was operated with this pin removed, it would constitute a clear and serious safety management violation." The organization continued, "In particular, structural modifications or alterations of construction machinery are known to require approval from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport or the relevant authorities, so it is essential to verify whether proper procedures were followed. If structural modifications were made without approval, this would be a clear legal violation and a serious safety management issue."

The Daegu Safe Living Citizens' Alliance stated, "This accident also reveals the structural shortcomings of construction machinery safety regulations in South Korea. In Japan, there are quantified legal standards for the overturn stability of pile drivers and drilling machines, but such regulations are currently absent in South Korea."

The Daegu Safe Living Citizens' Alliance concluded, "If these suspicions are confirmed to be true, this accident would not be a simple equipment defect, but a foreseeable man-made disaster caused by illegal modifications, poor safety management, and insufficient institutional safety oversight." The group called for a thorough investigation into whether the drilling machine was illegally modified from 21 meters to 24 meters, an investigation into the removal of the safety pin and the responsible parties, verification of approval for the structural modification from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and a determination of responsibility for on-site safety management and supervision.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.