Police currently investigating last year's collapse of a retaining wall on an overpass in Osan, Gyeonggi Province, have launched a compulsory investigation of Osan Mayor Lee Kwon-jae, the city's top official. The probe appears to be expanding to the head of the local government over whether road safety management and inspection and control systems were appropriate at the time of the accident, and whether personnel and budgets were properly deployed.
On Feb. 4, the criminal task force of the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency executed a search and seizure warrant in connection with Mayor Lee, who is suspected of violating the Serious Accidents Punishment Act (serious civil disasters). Twenty-six investigators were deployed to Osan City Hall and were said to be securing materials needed for the investigation from the mayor's office, the secretariat, the safety policy division, the planning and budget division, and other departments.
This is the first time police have carried out a compulsory investigation targeting the mayor's workplace in connection with this case. Police had previously been investigating Osan City, the construction contractor, and the supervision firm. A search and seizure of related agencies was also conducted right after the accident, but the mayor's office was not included at that time.
In this search and seizure, the key was said to be securing electronic information stored on the mayor's personal computer and other devices. However, the mobile phone was excluded from seizure after the warrant was dismissed.
The mayor was booked last Nov. on suspicion of a serious civil disaster. A serious civil disaster can be applied when a defect in design, manufacturing, installation, or management of a public-use facility or public transportation causes one or more deaths or results in a certain number of serious injuries. Roads and retaining walls are also included in the category of public-use facilities if they meet certain criteria. The retaining wall at Gajang Intersection in question is said to be about 330 meters long and around 10 meters high, and is classified as a type-2 facility under the Facility Safety Act.
Police are focusing on the fact that when a serious accident occurs at a facility managed by a local government, responsibility can be sought from the person in overall charge of the facility. Police are said to be closely examining whether the mayor properly established a safety and health management system to prevent accidents and whether related personnel and budget allocations, as well as inspection and control procedures, were operated effectively.
After analyzing the seized materials, police plan to coordinate the schedule for summoning the mayor by synthesizing them with forthcoming accident investigation results. A police official said, "We proceeded with the search and seizure after detecting indications of negligence in fulfilling the duty to prevent accidents," adding, "We will analyze the secured materials and review the overall duties related to serious accidents."
The accident that triggered this investigation occurred at about 7:04 p.m. on July 16 last year on an overpass in the Suwon-bound direction near Gajang Intersection in Gajang-dong, Osan. The collapse of the retaining wall buried a passenger car passing on the road below, killing a driver in her 40s.
Regarding the cause of the accident, some have argued that the heavy rain of 39.5 millimeters per hour at the time had an impact, while others have pointed out that road control was insufficient despite warning signs such as potholes and cracks. The possibility of shoddy construction and gaps in post-maintenance and inspections is also a point of controversy.