The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport imposed a total penalty surcharge of 1.5 billion won on the Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL), holding it responsible for last year's safety incidents, including a worker fatality at Guro Station and the derailment of a KTX-Sancheon train.
On the 26th, the ministry said it convened the Administrative Disposition Review Committee on 25th and resolved this disposition for seven violations of the railway safety management system.
First, a penalty surcharge of 260 million won was imposed over the Aug. 9 fatal accident at Seoul's Guro Station in which two workers performing overhead contact line maintenance died. The accident occurred when the upper work platform of the electric motor car the workers were riding exceeded the permitted range and collided with an inspection vehicle passing on the adjacent track. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport noted that KORAIL failed to follow its own rules, the "Detailed rules for work affecting train operation tracks."
On 18th of the same month, there was a derailment of a KTX-Sancheon train near Gomo Station on the Gyeongbu High-Speed Line (Dongdaegu–Gyeongju section) due to an axle defect. There were no casualties, but property damage of about 1.35 billion won occurred, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport determined that KORAIL violated the "Preventive maintenance procedures for high-speed rail vehicle axles and wheels" by continuing operation even after confirming a wheel defect, and imposed a penalty surcharge of 360 million won.
In addition, a total penalty surcharge of 300 million won was imposed for cases in which KORAIL arbitrarily changed the safety management system by altering the maintenance cycle for electric locomotives without ministry approval, excluding air-conditioning unit inspection items, and bringing in new rolling stock.
Furthermore, it was confirmed that, despite being ordered to take corrective action for failing to observe the overhaul schedule for high-speed rail vehicle components and the wheel truing (machining the wheel surface) cycle, KORAIL did not comply. An additional penalty surcharge of 240 million won each, totaling 480 million won, was imposed. KORAIL reported completion of corrective measures in March, but a regular inspection in June revealed that was not the case.
In this review, beyond penalty surcharges, administrative dispositions were also approved against 18 railway employees for violations of the Railway Safety Act. Specifically, the measures included a three-month suspension of a driver's license (1 person) for a passenger injury caused by driving error, failure to confirm boarding and alighting (1), signal violations (8), using an electronic device while operating (4), and stopping outside a station (4). As a result, one person had a license suspension and 17 received warnings.
Jeong Eui-gyeong, the railway safety policy director at the ministry, said, "If a railway operating agency violates the safety management system, it can lead to a major accident," adding, "We will continue to respond strictly to acts that threaten safety in accordance with the Railway Safety Act."