This article was posted on the ChosunBiz RM Report site at 5:25 p.m. on April 15, 2025.
Eight hours before a collapse occurred at the site of the Gwangmyeong Shin-Ansan Line underground tunnel construction, the Ministry of Employment and Labor sent a 'work stoppage recommendation' notice to the contractor, POSCO Engineering & Construction. A work stoppage recommendation is a measure that the Minister of Employment and Labor can take to business owners when there is an urgent risk of an industrial accident. However, POSCO Engineering & Construction continued its operations despite the recommendation, resulting in one employee going missing due to the collapse.
According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor and others on that day, the Anyang Employment and Labor Office issued a work stoppage recommendation to POSCO Engineering & Construction around 7 a.m. on the 11th. A Ministry of Employment and Labor official noted, "We first made a verbal recommendation and then promptly sent the related notice." The collapse occurred around 3:13 p.m. on the same day.
The Gwangmyeong collapse is reported to have shown multiple signs beforehand. The contractor confirmed damage to the internal columns of the tunnel starting from 9:50 p.m. on the previous day, the 10th, and evacuated the underground workers.
On the day of the accident, the 11th, around 12:30 a.m., construction officials reported concerns about the accident to Gwangmyeong City, and the police also controlled areas near the construction site. Subsequently, around 4 a.m., the contractor conducted a safety inspection together with the Korea Tunnelling and Underground Space Institute.
It is said that the contractor began reinforcement work on the underground tunnel columns around 7 a.m. on the 11th, which coincides with the time the Ministry of Employment and Labor issued the work stoppage recommendation.
Afterward, the construction proceeded without any work stoppage, and ultimately, the collapse occurred around 3:13 p.m. The underground tunnel construction site, where POSCO Engineering & Construction was operating, and the upper road in the fifth section of the Shin-Ansan Line in Iljik-dong, Gwangmyeong City, collapsed.
A 50-year-old worker identified as A, who was engaged in reinforcement work underground, went missing. The fire authorities continue their search for A.
A Ministry of Employment and Labor official said, "It needs to be determined through future investigations why the contractor continued operations despite the work stoppage recommendation." However, the work stoppage recommendation is not mandatory.