National Land Safety Chief: "Civil Engineering Projects Only Allocated 70-80% of Costs... Safety Budgets Must Be Properly Enforced"

President Park Changgeun, Meeting with Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Press Corps

Park Changgeun, President of the National Land Safety Management Agency, said, "One of the problems in civil engineering is that construction costs are not properly estimated," adding, "Safety management costs are not being properly applied, and we need to ensure they are accurately reflected and implemented."

President Park made these remarks on the 23rd during a meeting with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport press corps at a restaurant near the Government Sejong Complex, in response to a question about the recurring safety accidents at construction sites. Having taken office in January this year, President Park is a former university professor specializing in civil engineering and is recognized as an expert in disaster safety. He said, "With rising labor and material costs, the reality is that civil engineering projects are forced to be carried out for 70 won when the actual cost is 100 won," and added, "Site managers are compelled to cut construction costs, but safety budgets are not being used even when they are allocated."

Park Changkeun, President of the National Land Safety Management Institute, is holding a meeting with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport press corps at a restaurant near the Government Complex Sejong on the 23rd. Photo by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport press corps

The National Land Safety Management Agency is a quasi-governmental organization responsible for managing the safety and quality of construction projects and national infrastructure. Its core work includes monitoring the aging of infrastructure such as bridges and tunnels, as well as underground safety management. President Lee Jaemyung has emphasized the need to reduce casualties at construction sites, especially at smaller and more vulnerable sites. In response, a new safety patrol system has been launched focusing on these small-scale sites.

President Park stated, "There are about 150,000 to 160,000 civil engineering projects per year, and nearly 90% of them are sites with a budget of less than 5 billion won, making it realistically impossible to manage them all." He added, "This year, our goal is to conduct onsite inspection consulting at approximately 22,000 locations."

Regarding the growing public concern over ground subsidence in urban areas, he explained that safety measures are being implemented throughout the entire lifecycle of underground excavation projects, including design, construction, and maintenance. To enhance the reliability of underground safety assessment reports at the design stage, the agency plans to revise the standard manual based on three key factors: groundwater, cutoff methods, and ground stability. To prevent poorly prepared assessment reports, strict standards will be applied to develop new guidelines.

On the 26th, at the demolition site of Seosomun Overpass in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, the upper deck collapsed, resulting in three fatalities and three injuries. Due to the risk of further collapse, restoration work has been delayed, causing disruptions to train operations, including the Gyeongui-Jungang Line and KTX. The photo shows the accident site on the 27th. 2026.05.27 Photo by Dongju Yoon

In the construction phase, President Park emphasized that underground safety inspections, which had been largely document-based, will be fully converted to an onsite checklist approach. The agency is also establishing a system to enable immediate joint inspections when risk factors are identified. During the maintenance phase, the plan is to expand the use of ground exploration equipment and professional personnel to proactively investigate high-risk areas and increase support for local governments.

Regarding the accident that occurred during the demolition of the Seosomun Overpass in Seoul, President Park said, "We will actively cooperate with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to promptly establish institutional safety measures" and added, "In the long term, we will strengthen research and development capabilities to proactively respond to the aging of infrastructure."

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