Minister Kim Yun-duk of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 20th pledged measures to prevent a recurrence regarding the missing rebar incident at the Great Train eXpress (GTX)-A Samsung Station construction site, saying the ministry is "taking it very seriously."
The Minister said the same at a related inquiry at the Land Infrastructure and Transport Committee of the National Assembly on the 20th, saying, "On the most important issues, we are reviewing this matter from the ground up with safety as the top priority so it does not directly compromise safety."
The Minister added, "When things are not properly reported like this, and there are attempts to downplay or conceal something, we plan to thoroughly investigate and audit, analyze the findings, and prepare measures to prevent a recurrence."
The Minister holds the position that the Seoul Metropolitan Government should have filed a separate report on this incident. The Minister saw a need for a separate report by the city. The Minister said, "For matters that could pose a critical safety issue, filing a separate report is most important," adding, "According to the entrusted management agreement between the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Korea National Railway, the (missing rebar) should have been included in the summary report and the project failure report."
He went on, "The Seoul Metropolitan Government had a duty to file a separate situation report in this situation but did not fulfill that duty at all," adding, "For city officials to say they reported everything shows a severe lack of safety awareness and serious ethical problems, in my view."
In particular, regarding the construction project management report that the Seoul Metropolitan Government said it submitted to Korea National Railway, the Minister said, "If the city's report runs 400 pages a month, that's more than 2,000 pages in five months," adding, "In my view, a 'hidden picture' style report cannot be considered a proper report, and the (omission) was not included in the summary report either."
The Minister also saw Korea National Railway as bearing some responsibility. The Minister pointed out, "Even if the volume was large, there is some validity to the view that Korea National Railway should have reviewed it," adding, "Korea National Railway cannot avoid partial responsibility."