South Korea, who chose a new president this week, has suffered until this year two dramatic fatal collapses that add the country’s construction security problem.
Government officials of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport say that there were 1,211 deaths for construction and 30,340 damage 2020 to 2024, according to Chosunbiz.
On April 11, a metro tunnel under construction was collapsed in Gwangmyeong in southern Seoul. One of the workers was injured and the body of a missing worker was discovered six days later.
The collapse damaged and forced the closing of several nearby buildings.
This accident also triggered southern Korea prosecutors to file accusations of labor negligence against an Officer of the Pohang Postco E & C Project Contractor, a subcontractor and a project supervision service, reports Yonhap’s news agency. The director of the firm said the company “will find exhaustive measures to prevent recurrence and further strengthen the safety management system on -site.”
In a statement to the Korean media, the company added: “We express our deepest condolences to the families that occur and we hope that the health of the rescue person will recover as soon as possible and we will apologize deeply to local residents who are anxious and uncomfortable in this accident.”
At the end of February, four workers died and six others suffered when a bridge on the road to Anseong was built, also in southern Seoul, collapsed during construction, the media reported.
The media cited fire and rescue services as sources of information on the mishap.
The sections of the road bridge, supported by concrete columns 160 feet high, collapsed one after the other after being lifted in place by a crane, reported Reuters.
