[Asia Economy Reporter Kangwook Cho] SR, the operator of the Suseo High-Speed Railway SRT, stated on the 25th regarding the controversy over the inadequate reporting of the derailment accident during high-speed train test runs last year, "We immediately notified the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and other related agencies," and added, "It is not true that the fact of the accident was hidden and only revealed later."
In an explanatory document released that day, SR explained, "According to the 'Guidelines on Reporting Railway Accidents' (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport notice), the initial reporting obligation for the accident that occurred at the Honam Railway Vehicle Maintenance Unit lies with Korail, the 'railway operator managing the accident section.' SR received the report submitted by Korail to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and immediately re-notified the relevant agencies."
Regarding the criticism that there was a false report claiming no injuries, SR clarified, "After the accident, railway safety inspectors from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Korail, and SR officials were dispatched to the site, but no injuries were confirmed at that time," and added, "We were first informed of the injuries during the railway police investigation on October 26 of last year." They further stated, "Injuries to Korail employees are matters for Korail to handle and report."
Concerning the issue that the accident was excluded from official statistics, leading to SRT receiving a no-accident certification last year, SR emphasized, "Until the amendment of the law in October last year, accidents involving trains under test runs to be deployed for commercial operation were not included in the category of railway accidents as defined by the Railway Safety Act," and added, "SR did not receive any separate no-accident certification last year; therefore, reports claiming that SR received a B grade in public enterprise evaluations based on a no-accident record are inaccurate."
Regarding the criticism that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport imposed a fine of 360 million KRW on SRT only after receiving a report from the railway police about injuries, SR explained, "The fine was not imposed due to the occurrence of injuries but was based on the damage amount to the vehicle caused by driver negligence," and added, "The amount was also reduced due to reasons such as deficiencies in the safety system that existed since the construction of the test track at the Honam Railway Vehicle Maintenance Unit."
SR stressed, "After the accident, related agencies including the Korea National Railway Corporation and Korail took supplementary measures to install safety equipment such as the train automatic stop system on the test track where the accident occurred, in accordance with installation standards."
Meanwhile, on May 2nd last year, at around 12:17 a.m., a collision accident occurred at the Honam Railway Vehicle Maintenance Unit of Korea Railroad Corporation (Korail) during a test run for signal device testing. The accident was caused by the driver exceeding the speed limit and deficiencies in the automatic stop system and test equipment, resulting in a collision with a barrier. Three people, including maintenance workers, were injured, and property damage worth tens of billions of KRW occurred. The driver responsible for the accident is known to have been criminally prosecuted on charges of professional negligence causing injury.
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