Seoul City allegedly hid rebar omission at GTX Samsung Station site during 17 meetings with ministry

Seoul City officials are accused of deliberately concealing critical information regarding missing rebar at the construction site of the GTX Samsung Station, a major transportation hub. Despite participating in 17 meetings with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport (MOLIT) after the construction company, Hyundai Engineering & Construction, reported the rebar omission last November, Seoul City allegedly never disclosed this fact to MOLIT.

This alleged concealment is particularly concerning given that Seoul City shared details on numerous other, less significant, repair issues during these meetings. These included minor points such as 'tape removal' and 'water leakage reinforcement.' However, the critical structural defect of missing rebar was reportedly omitted from all discussions and reports shared with the ministry. This selective disclosure has led to accusations that the city is intentionally covering up the issue.

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In the multiple meetings regarding Samsung Station, various topics such as securing drainage function and the need for additional consultation on the width of evacuation routes were discussed, but the fact that the rebar, which is the basis of structural safety, was not mentioned at all proves that Seoul City is lying.

Critics, including Yoon Kun-young, a member of the National Assembly's Administration and Safety Committee, suggest this omission was an organized effort to protect Mayor Oh Se-hoon. Yoon stated that the repeated discussions about various aspects of the Samsung Station project, including drainage and evacuation routes, while completely ignoring the fundamental issue of rebar, is proof of the city's dishonesty. He believes this points to a systematic cover-up aimed at shielding the mayor.

Seoul City's acting mayor, Kim Sung-bo, however, presented a different account. He stated that the city had communicated the reinforcement review progress and detailed construction plans six times via official documents to the Korea National Railway after the initial report in November. Kim expressed regret over MOLIT's actions, suggesting they were causing public anxiety.

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Since the construction project management report including the rebar omission was first sent to the Korea National Railway on November 13 last year, we have notified them of the reinforcement review progress and detailed construction plans six times through official documents until the 24th of last month. It is very regrettable that [MOLIT] is causing public anxiety.