Kim Young-hwan: "Even if I had arrived at the scene early, the situation would not have changed"

Visit to Joint Memorial Altar at Chungbuk Provincial Office
"Golden time was very short"
"Sincerely apologize to the bereaved families"

Regarding the Cheongju Osong Underpass accident, Kim Young-hwan, Governor of Chungbuk Province, said on the 20th, "I don't think the situation would have changed even if I had arrived there (at the accident site) earlier."

On the same day, Governor Kim visited the joint memorial altar set up in front of the civil service office on the first floor of the new Chungbuk Provincial Government building and stated, "The golden time was very short, and in the situation where the temporary embankment collapsed, I believe that no measures could have been effective or saved lives."

Governor Kim Young-hwan of Chungbuk Province is answering reporters' questions during his visit to the joint memorial altar for the Cheongju Osong underpass disaster set up at the Chungbuk Provincial Office on the morning of the 20th. 2023.7.20.
Photo by Yonhap News

He continued, "As the highest official of the province, I think I should have been at the site, but at that time, I judged the more urgent situation to be the overflow at Goesan Dam," he explained.

Governor Kim said, "I sincerely apologize to the bereaved families who are suffering immeasurable pain after losing their beloved family members. I am sorry."

He also emphasized, "As the governor responsible for protecting the lives and property of the people, I feel a heavy responsibility," and added, "We will investigate the truth and identify those responsible with the mindset of the bereaved families."

It was confirmed that Governor Kim received the first report about the Osong Underpass accident at 9:44 a.m., about an hour after the accident occurred on the 15th. However, he arrived at the Osong Underpass accident site only at 1:20 p.m. after inspecting the Goesan Dam site.

Regarding this, Governor Kim explained, "Around 10:10 a.m., I heard that one person was in cardiac arrest and one person was missing," and added, "I only thought that one or two casualties had occurred and did not realize that a huge accident had happened."

He added, "Since an inspection by the Prime Minister's Office is currently underway, all facts will be revealed."

Meanwhile, at the Osong Underpass, around 8:40 a.m. on the 15th, the nearby Miho River embankment burst, flooding 17 vehicles including city buses with river water. This accident resulted in 14 deaths and 10 injuries.