Plastic drums temporarily installed on Incheon Bridge to deter suicide jumpers. [Yonhap]
Plastic drums temporarily installed on Incheon Bridge to deter suicide jumpers. [Yonhap]

While deaths from falls and jumps on Incheon Bridge have continued to mount, the only meaningful countermeasure put in place has been plastic drums along the shoulder — a stopgap that does nothing to physically stop a person from going over the railing.

In the years since the bridge opened, 97 people have died, yet authorities relied on that temporary measure to discourage vehicles from pulling over rather than installing a barrier that could prevent falls outright.

A plan has now been confirmed to install 2.5-meter-high wire-type fall-prevention barriers along 8 kilometers of the bridge in both directions, with ground-breaking targeted for next year. The project raises hopes that the bridge can shed its grim reputation as a suicide destination.

According to a safety facility installation plan for Incheon Bridge that Rep. Heo Jong-sik of the Democratic Party of Korea (Incheon Dong-gu Michuhol-gu Gap constituency) obtained from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on Monday, the barriers will run from the western approach span through the cable-stayed main span to the eastern approach span — roughly 4 kilometers in each direction, or 8 kilometers in total.

The main preventive measure on Incheon Bridge up to now has been plastic drums. Bridge operator Incheon Bridge Co. began placing about 1,500 of them along a 9.5-kilometer stretch in both directions in November 2022 to make it harder for vehicles to stop on the shoulder.

The drums, however, were only ever designed to restrict vehicles from entering and stopping on the shoulder — not to directly prevent people from falling off the bridge.

Given the recurring incidents, calls for a fundamental physical barrier were inevitable.

The accidents kept happening. Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport data show that 97 people have died on Incheon Bridge from its opening in 2009 through 2026.

The annual toll jumped from eight in 2021 to 17 in 2022, then stood at 12 in 2023, 10 in 2024, nine in 2025 and 11 so far in 2026 — hovering in the double digits every year.

Despite the unrelenting toll, installing a structure capable of physically blocking falls took years to bring to fruition.

Rep. Heo first raised the issue at the 2022 national audit, strongly urging the installation of fall-prevention facilities and citing the bridge's repeated fatalities.

Incheon Bridge Co. subsequently conducted wind-tunnel tests in 2023 to assess the technical feasibility of installing such a structure, accounting for the strong winds that buffet maritime bridges.

Progress stalled, however, as questions over project costs and funding arrangements remained unresolved.

A concrete solution emerged only after Heo personally petitioned Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Yun-deok in December last year and maintained sustained pressure on the government to move the project forward.

The confirmed structure is a 2.5-meter wire-type barrier. The height was determined after a comprehensive review of safety installations on other bridges — including Cheongna Sky Bridge and Mapo Bridge — as well as maintenance requirements involving bridge inspection vehicles.

The total project cost is set at about 8 billion won ($5.78 million). Incheon Bridge Co. will cover the upfront costs and recoup them later through government private-road operating subsidies.

The company aims to commission the design and begin preliminary work this year, with full construction scheduled to start next year.

With the project now confirmed, attention turns to whether Incheon Bridge's approach to fall incidents can shift from temporary deterrents to a permanent physical solution.

"While countless lives were being lost on Incheon Bridge, stopgap measures like plastic drums were never going to fundamentally prevent accidents," Heo said. "After first raising the issue at the 2022 national audit and continuing to work with the government, we have now confirmed both an effective fall-prevention facility and a funding plan."


gilbert@heraldcorp.com