Jeong Cheongrae: "Responsibility Must Be Taken for Seosomun and Samseong Station"... Roundtable Aimed at Oh

Urgent Roundtable Hosted by Administrative Safety and Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committees on May 28
Lack of Legislation for SOC Facility Dismantling

The Democratic Party of Korea held an urgent expert discussion on May 28 regarding the collapse of the Seosomun overpass and the missing rebar incident at the GTX-A Samseong Station integrated transfer center.

Jeong Cheongrae, leader of the Democratic Party, stated at the urgent expert discussion titled "Is Seoul Safe As It Is?" hosted by the party's Administration and Security Committee and Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee at the National Assembly that morning, "We must thoroughly investigate the causes of the Seosomun overpass collapse and the missing rebar incident at the GTX-A Samseong Station integrated transfer center to establish solid measures to prevent such incidents from recurring. Those responsible must be held clearly accountable."

He continued, "I was deeply shocked to hear from experts that there are no laws in Korea regarding the dismantling of social overhead capital (SOC) infrastructure. Through this urgent discussion, we will examine what needs to be done immediately as well as in the mid- to long-term."

Chun Junho, Senior Deputy Floor Leader of the Democratic Party, remarked, "The most fundamental role of administration is to protect citizens' lives, safety, and daily routines. Without upholding these basics, no other value or achievement is meaningful," and pointed out, "Senior Seoul city officials who attended the National Assembly consistently maintained an attitude that there were no safety issues, and for six months merely offered excuses and avoided responsibility for delays in reporting."

At the urgent expert discussion titled "Is Seoul Safe As It Is?" hosted by the Democratic Party’s Administration and Security Committee and Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee held at the National Assembly on the 28th, attendees including Jeong Cheongrae, leader of the Democratic Party, are offering a moment of silence in memory of the victims of the Seosomun overpass. Photo by Hyunmin Kim

An Sangro, Chair of the Korea Safety Leaders Forum, commented, "While the dismantling of buildings is relatively well managed under the Building Management Act, there is no relevant law for SOC facilities. It is my hope that a separate law equivalent to this will be established."

Chairman An added, "When a facility is dismantled and disappears, it is similar to erasing its traces—data is lost. It is essential to accumulate and manage this data well in order to improve technical completeness. We need to establish institutions that introduce and utilize advanced equipment such as artificial intelligence (AI), drones, and robots, and allocate budgets accordingly."

Park Dooyong, a professor at Hansung University and former president of the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency, also stressed the importance of data management. He explained, "Many aspects of demolition work are vulnerable, and record-keeping is also weak. With more demolition projects ahead, it is necessary to monitor and accumulate data so that it can be utilized as big data."

The discussion was attended by Democratic Party members of the National Assembly's Administration and Security Committee and Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, including Yoon Kunyoung, Chae Hyunil, Lee Haesik, Oh Gihyung, Park Mingyu, Mo Kyungjong, Kim Junhwan, and Yeom Taeyoung.

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