Seoul Highway Collapsed Despite Warnings, Trains Ran Until Minutes Before

The collapse of the Seosomun elevated highway in Seoul on April 26th, which killed three people and injured three others, occurred despite multiple warnings about its instability. Reports indicate that construction workers first noticed "abnormal signs" during concrete slab cutting work early that morning.

This initial report was made to the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Urban Infrastructure Headquarters around 7:30 AM, five hours after workers had stopped construction due to a 2.9 cm girder subsidence and were performing reinforcement work. Approximately two hours after this initial report, the construction's chief supervisor also verbally reported to the city that "urgent safety inspection is needed."

A subsequent on-site meeting and inspection involving site managers took place around 10:50 AM. By 1:40 PM, a joint safety assessment began with nine participants, including city officials and external experts. However, just 53 minutes later, at 2:33 PM, the girder collapsed.

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We speculate that it was difficult to recognize the girder collapse accident because it was initially designed without any problems with the girder.

Officials speculated that the lack of safety measures, such as halting train traffic on the tracks directly beneath the highway, contributed to the casualties. CCTV footage shows a train passing under the highway just 90 seconds before the collapse, and another train, presumed to be KTX, passed about five minutes earlier. The Seoul Metropolitan Government stated that securing train traffic control from the National Railroad Administration was difficult without concrete evidence of safety issues, despite ongoing discussions regarding demolition work.

In response to the incident, the National Police Agency's investigation headquarters has begun a full-scale investigation. They are examining the safety management plan submitted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government to determine if construction regulations and safety procedures were properly followed. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans to complete restoration work on the affected railway section between Seoul and Haengsin/Susek stations by April 29th, with train operations expected to resume around April 30th. The collapse has reduced overall train operating rates to about 80% of normal.

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It was difficult to request train traffic control from the National Railroad Administration without concrete evidence of safety issues, as coordination between agencies regarding train operations during demolition work was not smooth.