[2026 Parliamentary Audit] Oh Sehoon: "Ministry Obstructing Decisions on GTX Missing-Rebar Reinforcement Plan"

Dispute over delays in finalizing reinforcement plan for GTX Samsung Station
Yoon Geonyoung: "Seoul is blaming the ministry without coordinating internally"
Oh Sehoon: "The plan must be finalized quickly, whatever the method"

A dispute erupted during a parliamentary audit over who was responsible for delays in finalizing a reinforcement plan for the missing rebar at Samsung Station on the Seoul Metropolitan Area's GTX-A line, with Seoul and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport pointing fingers at each other.

At the National Assembly Public Administration and Security Committee's audit on Oct. 15, Yoon Geon-young, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea, noted that Seoul had unusually criticized the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport last month, saying it was "not finalizing the reinforcement plan."

Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon is lost in thought at the 2026 parliamentary audit of the Seoul Metropolitan Government by the National Assembly’s Public Administration and Security Committee, held at Seoul City Hall in Jung-gu, Seoul, on October 15, 2026. Photo by Kang Jinhyung

In response, Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon said, "Delays in decision-making on the reinforcement plan are increasing inconvenience for residents." He explained, "Seoul proposed placing steel plates and steel sheets and using epoxy or reinforcing materials, but the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Korea Concrete Institute are reviewing a mortar-injection plan."

He added, "Seoul is ready to begin reinforcement work immediately, whatever method is chosen, as long as the ministry finalizes the plan quickly."

Yoon countered that Seoul was in no position to criticize the ministry. "Seoul is blaming the ministry without even having its own position sorted out," he said. "Seoul submitted a revised reinforcement plan on June 2 and then submitted a high-strength mortar-injection plan again on Aug. 30, changing the plan two or three times." He added, "The priority should be to develop a reliable reinforcement plan that ensures public safety, but Seoul is holding the ministry responsible without coordinating internally."

Mayor Oh reiterated that the ministry was to blame. He said, "At the recent confirmation hearing for the newly appointed minister of land, infrastructure and transport, there was a comment that 'we will seek indemnification from Seoul.'" He argued, "That assumes Seoul is responsible, but in reality, the ministry is delaying final approval of the reinforcement plan."

Mayor Oh said, "The ministry has become an obstacle to decision-making. After commissioning the Korea Concrete Institute to conduct a study, it appears unwilling to make any decision until December." He added, "Whether it's epoxy or cement grouting, if the ministry makes a decision quickly, we can minimize construction delays and reduce costs. That is the point I made in strong terms."

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