Minister Kim Moon-soo Issues Emergency Directive on Anseong Highway Construction Site Collapse

Investigation into Violations of the Industrial Safety and Health Act and the Serious Accident Punishment Act

Kim Moon-soo, Minister of Employment and Labor, issued an urgent directive to swiftly manage the collapse accident that occurred on the morning of the 25th at the construction site of Section 9 of the Sejong-Anseong Expressway located in Anseong-si, Gyeonggi Province, in collaboration with related agencies including the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

On the 25th, at the construction site of Cheonyongcheon Bridge in Section 9 of the Cheonan-Anseong segment of the Seoul-Sejong Expressway located in Sanpyeong-ri, Seoun-myeon, Anseong-si, Gyeonggi-do, 4 to 5 deck slabs placed on the bridge pier fell down and were destroyed on the ground. Yonhap News

Earlier that day, around 9:50 a.m., a structural collapse occurred during bridge installation work at the expressway construction site in Anseong-si, Gyeonggi Province. As a result of this accident, 10 workers who were on site were either killed or injured.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor immediately dispatched the local Employment and Labor Office to the site upon the accident and ordered a halt to the work in progress as well as any similar tasks. The Industrial Accident Prevention Supervision Officer was also urgently sent to the accident site.

Additionally, the Ministry decided to actively support accident handling and response by participating as a related agency in the Accident Countermeasures Headquarters led by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The Ministry also concretized plans to operate the Central Industrial Accident Response Headquarters (Jungsanbon) and Regional Industrial Accident Response Headquarters (Jisanbon) independently.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor stated, "We will conduct a strict investigation into any violations of the Industrial Safety and Health Act and the Serious Accident Punishment Act."