Reinforcement work had been set for completion by July; delays now push timeline past November; Ministry of Land conducted 94 non-stop test runs confirming safety; political controversy may cost citizens up to six months of service

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon speaks during the 336th regular session of the Seoul Metropolitan Council on Thursday. [Seoul Metropolitan Government]
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon speaks during the 336th regular session of the Seoul Metropolitan Council on Thursday. [Seoul Metropolitan Government]

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon expressed regret Thursday that the schedule for GTX-A trains to pass through Samsung station without stopping has been delayed after construction work on the underground complex beneath Yeongdong-daero became entangled in political controversy.

Speaking at the 336th regular session of the Seoul Metropolitan Council, Oh said structural experts and relevant agencies had confirmed the safety of the underground development project and that the construction errors were correctable. The issue had nonetheless been "politicized and turned into an election issue," he said, raising the risk that GTX-A non-stop service through Samsung station would be pushed back to November or later.

He added that some media outlets had omitted key steps in the process and reported as though the city had deliberately concealed the problem, causing prolonged public anxiety over safety.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government launched its own safety inspections and sought outside expert advice immediately after discovering last November that reinforcing steel bars had been omitted from some columns during construction of the Yeongdong-daero underground complex.

At the time, column strength stood at 1.53 times the actual applied load. Supervisory engineers and structural specialists confirmed there were no structural safety concerns until below-ground third-floor construction was complete, and the city moved quickly to draw up a reinforcement plan.

Following expert review, the city settled on a steel-plate reinforcement method. Once completed, column strength is expected to reach 1.1 times the projected applied load after the project is finished — exceeding the original design standard.

After finalizing the reinforcement plan, the city shared the relevant materials with the Korea Rail Network Authority on April 24 and briefed the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the plan and next steps on April 29. The ministry conducted an emergency night inspection that same day, and a follow-up emergency safety check involving more than 20 outside experts from May 6 to May 8 again found no structural safety problems.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport then resumed GTX-A non-stop test runs through Samsung station on May 4, having suspended them on April 30. A total of 94 test runs were completed through May 19, which the city said demonstrated there were no serious safety concerns.

Oh said that if safety had been confirmed to the point where the ministry was conducting test runs, the right call would have been to proceed steadily with reinforcement work on schedule — rather than making an announcement during the election period in a way that amplified public anxiety — as that approach would have achieved both safety and timely construction.

"It is regrettable that the delay in reinforcement work has instead produced an outcome where the benefits Seoul residents could have enjoyed are pushed back by at least three to six months," he added.

The city had been pursuing a plan to carry out commercial trial operations and reinforcement work in parallel, aiming to complete construction within July as originally planned and keep the GTX-A Samsung station non-stop schedule on track.

The issue escalated into excessive political dispute and speculative controversy before safety verification and fact-checking were complete, however, prompting additional reviews by relevant agencies. As a result, the city said, there is growing concern that GTX-A non-stop service through Samsung station will be delayed until November or later.

Oh said the ministry's request for a new study had made it impossible to carry out reinforcement work that had been feasible between May and July. "The construction delay will inconvenience not only Seoul residents but also Gyeonggi Province residents, and the resulting operational loss compensation of roughly 300 million won (about $197,000) per day will inevitably become a fiscal burden on the public," he said.

The city said it would continue to work closely with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Korea Rail Network Authority and other relevant agencies to carry out the reinforcement work without disruption and to ensure both public safety and the GTX-A Samsung station non-stop schedule are secured.


ikson@heraldcorp.com