The National Assembly Public Administration and Security Committee kept up a current-issues inquiry into missing rebar at the Metropolitan Express Railway (GTX) Samseong Station on the day the Seosomun overpass collapse occurred, leaving Seoul's disaster and safety chief stuck for an hour. Critics say the ruling and opposition parties hampered the response to the accident by waging a "proxy battle for the Seoul mayoral election" in the committee.
The committee began on the morning of the 26th led by the Democratic Party of Korea. Earlier, People Power Party candidate Oh Se-hoon and Democratic Party candidate Chong Won-o had been trading barbs over the missing-rebar situation at GTX-A Samseong Station.
At the current-issues inquiry on the missing-rebar situation at Samseong Station held by the committee that day, Acting Seoul Mayor Kim Seong-bo (second vice mayor for administration) and Seoul City Urban Infrastructure Headquarters Deputy Minister Im Chun-geun were present. Acting Mayor Kim is Seoul's disaster and safety chief, and Deputy Minister Im is the official in charge of overseeing infrastructure construction within Seoul.
At 2:32 p.m., while the committee's inquiry was underway, the first report of the Seosomun overpass collapse was received. The site manager, the head of the supervisory team, and three external experts were killed in the accident. Three officials from the Seoul Urban Infrastructure Headquarters and Seodaemun District community service center were also injured.
People Power Party lawmaker Park Su-min, who was attending the committee meeting, said, "A breaking news alert says there has been a collapse during demolition of the Seosomun overpass, and Acting Mayor Kim Seong-bo should probably go to the site to take command." But committee chair Kwon Chil-seung of the Democratic Party said, "Have the ruling and opposition party secretaries consult on whether the witnesses will continue to attend," adding, "We will continue the meeting." Acting Mayor Kim Seong-bo and Urban Infrastructure Headquarters Deputy Minister Im Chun-geun had to remain.
The ruling and opposition parties continued to spar over the missing-rebar situation at GTX, and only at 3:22 p.m. did they allow Deputy Minister Im to leave. That was about 50 minutes after the Seosomun overpass collapse. Acting Mayor Kim was not able to leave the National Assembly until about 3:33 p.m., an hour after the accident. The officials who should have responded quickly right after the accident were all stuck at the National Assembly.
Now that the first half of the National Assembly session has effectively wrapped up and with local elections ahead, it is customary not to convene standing committees. Even so, the Public Administration and Security Committee and the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee were unusually convened after the missing-rebar situation at Samseong Station broke.
A political source said, "Nothing new was revealed in the committee's current-issues inquiry, and only a blame game was repeated," adding, "The ruling and opposition parties effectively became an obstacle to the response by waging a proxy battle for the Seoul mayoral election." Another source said, "Even after news of the accident came in, it is hard to accept that the committee kept Seoul officials from leaving."