As ground subsidence (sinkhole) accidents continue to occur near excavation sites in Gangdong District, Seoul, the government will conduct ground surveys in high-risk areas of ground subsidence near these sites under its authority. Previously, ground surveys were conducted only at the request of local governments. In the next five years, the government plans to expand the exploration by more than 50% through the reinforcement of personnel and equipment.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 27th established measures to strengthen safety management at excavation sites to alleviate public anxiety caused by a recent large-scale ground subsidence incident near excavation sites and to prevent similar accidents. Among major ground subsidence incidents that occurred in the past five years, 37% were due to deficiencies in excavation work.
◇Direct investigation of high-risk areas… GPR equipment to be expanded 2.3 times by 2029
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will create the authority to directly investigate high-risk areas for ground subsidence. The 'Special Act on Underground Safety Management' for direct investigations was amended this month. Previously, ground surveys were conducted by the Korea Land and Geospatial Informatix Corporation under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport only in areas requested by local governments.
In the future, even without requests from local governments, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will selectively investigate high-risk adjacent and intersection areas, regions with many ground subsidence complaints, and evaluated risk areas.
To this end, the number of GPR survey equipment will be increased from the current 13 to 30 by 2029. This year, the exploration extension target will be increased from 3,200 km to 3,700 km, adding 500 km. By 2029, the exploration extension is planned to reach 5,100 km, representing an expansion of about 56% compared to this year.
Kim Tae-byeong, Director of the Safety Policy Division at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, noted, "We will move away from passive inspections focused on local governments' demand surveys and proactively manage risk areas based on data and systems." He added, "We will work with the Ministry of Economy and Finance to minimize the duration for securing personnel and equipment."
◇Fines imposed for inadequate underground safety investigation after construction starts
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will also improve the safety management system for each stage of excavation work. In the pre-construction stage for large-scale projects, the system will be improved to require separate orders for underground safety evaluations based on tools and extensions. Even for small construction sites (with excavation depths between 10-20 m) exempt from underground safety evaluations, if they are located on weak ground, investigations will be required.
After construction starts, penalties will be strengthened for companies that inadequately conduct underground safety investigations. Currently, companies are required to submit a monthly underground safety investigation report after construction starts, but many are failing to do so diligently due to issues like non-reflection in staffing estimates. Accordingly, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will revise the staffing estimate criteria to provide appropriate compensation for investigations. Penalties of up to 10 million won as fines will be imposed on non-compliant companies conducting underground safety investigations.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will also improve the underground safety inspection standard manual to prevent the use of construction methods that differ from the design and the use of inadequate materials and will distribute it for use during inspections by construction companies and supervisors.