GTX-A Rebar Omission Missed in Official Handover Documents

Concerns are mounting over Seoul City's delayed reporting of a construction error involving rebar omission in the GTX-A Samsung Station section, with allegations that the issue was only disclosed to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport six months after it was known. Further scrutiny has revealed that crucial handover documents for senior city officials failed to mention the significant construction flaw, casting doubt on the effectiveness of the city's safety management system.

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The omission of rebar construction errors from the handover documents is a serious problem. It is possible that it was intentionally omitted to hide the rebar omission, or that it was not recognized as a serious defect and was considered a normal part of the project.

Internal handover documents for the head of the Urban Infrastructure Headquarters and the head of the Yeongdong-daero Complex Development Promotion Team, both high-ranking Seoul City officials, did not include any information regarding the rebar omission in the GTX-A Samsung Station section. These documents were prepared in late December 2025, approximately 50 days after Seoul City stated it was first notified of the construction error by the contractor, Hyundai Engineering and Construction, and the supervising company on November 10, 2025.

An analysis of the handover documents, obtained by Hankyoreh 21, shows that while detailed information on various ongoing projects was included, the critical rebar omission and subsequent reinforcement plans were absent. This is in stark contrast to the detailed reporting of other projects, such as the Southern Ring Road Flattening Construction, which included reasons for cost increases and delays. The handover document for the Yeongdong-daero Complex Development Promotion Team head, despite a mayoral directive on November 11, 2025, urging attention to worker conditions to prevent safety accidents due to tight schedules, also omitted the rebar issue.

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Not including rebar omission in the handover documents constitutes gross negligence on the part of the writer. If intentional omission is proven, dereliction of duty could be considered, though proving intent will be difficult.

Experts have raised serious concerns about the omission. Choi Myung-ki, a professor at the Korea Industrial Safety Management Association, stated that omitting such a significant defect from official handover documents is a grave issue, suggesting it could stem from either intentional concealment or a failure to recognize its severity. He emphasized the importance of documenting such issues officially, rather than relying on verbal reports, to avoid accountability evasion. Noh Myung-sun, a professor at Sungkyunkwan University Law School, described the omission as gross negligence, adding that proving intentionality for charges of dereliction of duty would be difficult but not impossible. Park Min-kyu, a member of the Democratic Party, called for a thorough investigation into Seoul City's alleged lack of safety awareness and potential cover-up, demanding the immediate release of all related reports and directives concerning the GTX-A project.

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A thorough investigation into Seoul City's safety insensitivity and suspicions of concealment and cover-up is necessary, given that critical structural defects directly related to citizen safety were not shared through official handover documents.