"We Reported It Three Times" vs. "It Was Not Properly Reported": Seoul Metropolitan Government and Korea National Railway Clash Over Missing Rebar at GTX-A

[Financial News] The Seoul Metropolitan Government and the original client, Korea National Railway, clashed head-on over who is responsible for the missing rebar in the Samseong station section of Metropolitan Area Rapid Transit Line A (GTX-A). Seoul said it had reported the missing rebar three times, but Korea National Railway strongly pushed back, saying it had never received an official report.
On the 18th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government strongly denied criticism that it had learned of the missing rebar at the site but reported it late, releasing related official documents. The city said it had reported to Korea National Railway three times by official letter, including a supervision report that contained the missing main rebar in the columns. The reported dates cited by the city were Nov. 13 and Dec. 12 last year, and Jan. 16 this year.
The city explained, "After receiving notice from the contractor, we immediately carried out an on-site safety inspection," and added, "The structural safety review showed that the load currently acting on the columns is within a level the building columns can sufficiently withstand." It said the project continued after structural engineers determined there was no problem with the safety of the structure. It also said that when reinforcement methods were considered, structural stability, constructability and future maintenance impacts were reviewed comprehensively.
Korea National Railway, however, expressed strong regret over Seoul's position, saying, "We have never received a direct report." It countered that although the city had submitted monthly construction project management reports, the missing rebar issue could only be found in some work log entries within a massive report, and that there had been no separate report or consultation.
In particular, the agency said the summary of key construction project management details submitted by Seoul did not reflect the missing rebar issue. It also said the section on construction failures was marked "No applicable cases," making it difficult for the agency to grasp the facts.
The agency also claimed, "On April 24, the city sent an email to the agency's official requesting attendance at an advisory meeting on column reinforcement, apparently trying to substitute that for a formal report on the missing rebar." It added, "The agency then asked the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the agency itself on April 28 to report the facts, and the specific details were identified the following day, April 29."
Meanwhile, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and others on the 17th, 50 of the 80 structural columns in the underground fifth-floor GTX platform area along Yeongdong-daero near Samseong station in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, were found not to meet structural safety standards. Due to an on-site mistake, the design drawing was misread, and the main rebar that should have been arranged in two rows was installed in a single row.
After confirming the construction error last month, the ministry launched a special on-site inspection and is now reviewing overall structural safety and construction adequacy. The Korean National Police Agency also said it plans to begin an internal investigation into the construction errors, including the missing rebar, discovered that day.
ming@fnnews.com Jeon Min-kyung, Jang In-seo, Choi A-young Reporter