Three Railway Accidents Including Train Derailment and Employee Death Result in 1.8 Billion KRW Fine for Korail

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Resolved at Administrative Disciplinary Review Committee

[Asia Economy Reporter Noh Kyung-jo] Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL) was fined 1.8 billion KRW for three train derailment and fatal accident cases that occurred last year.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 27th that it held an administrative disposition review committee the day before and decided on the violation of the Railroad Safety Act by KORAIL. The fines were set as follows for each case: 720 million KRW for the KTX train derailment between Daejeon and Gimcheon-Gumi Station on the Gyeongbu High-Speed Line, 720 million KRW for the SRT train derailment at Daejeon Marshalling Yard Station on the Gyeongbu Line, and 360 million KRW for the employee fatality accident at Obong Station on the Nambu Freight Yard Line.

Scene of the SRT train derailment accident at Daejeon Marshalling Yard Station on the Gyeongbu Line / Photo by Daejeon Fire Headquarters

The KTX train derailment between Daejeon and Gimcheon-Gumi Station that occurred at around 11:53 a.m. on January 5 last year caused property damage of approximately 6.2 billion KRW. The Railroad Safety Act stipulates a fine of 720 million KRW when property damage due to a railroad accident or operational disruption exceeds 2 billion KRW.

Regarding this accident, it was revealed that KORAIL did not comply with the ultrasonic testing cycle during the maintenance of the train wheels (wheelsets). The Ministry of Land explained that the controller (Guro Control Center) received a record of vehicle instability detection from the train driver who operated the vehicle 2 hours and 16 minutes before the accident but failed to notify the operations control room, thereby violating the railroad safety management system.

A fine of 720 million KRW was also imposed for the SRT train derailment caused by track deformation within the Daejeon Marshalling Yard Station premises due to summer temperature rise.

This accident, which caused property damage of about 5.6 billion KRW, occurred because the station control operation team leader and others received information about track abnormalities (lateral vibrations when the train passed) from the preceding train driver but did not notify the driver of the accident train. It was also reported that the controller was not informed. Furthermore, among 18 track inspections conducted before the accident, 14 indicated the need for repairs, but KORAIL failed to carry out proper maintenance work, violating the safety management system related to track maintenance.

The fatal accident involving an employee at Obong Station on the Nambu Freight Yard Line occurred at around 8:20 p.m. on November 5. An employee who was assembling a freight train within the Obong Station premises collided with the rear of the freight train.

During freight train assembly, workers are required to confirm the vehicle’s operating route and perform transportation tasks from a safe location outside the track, but this was not properly observed. This accident falls under the category where the number of fatalities due to a railroad accident is one or more but less than three, resulting in a fine of 360 million KRW.

Jung Chae-kyo, Director of Railroad Safety Policy at the Ministry of Land, said, "Considering the sharp increase in railroad accidents last year, we plan to take strict measures against acts that threaten railroad safety," adding, "We will faithfully implement the 'Railroad Safety Enhancement Measures' announced on the 17th of this month to prevent recurrence of railroad accidents and drastically reduce accidents."