Chungnam Governor Kim Taehoon Orders Full Mobilization of Personnel and Equipment for Highway Collapse Accident

Visit to the Site of the Sejong-Anseong Expressway Bridge Collapse
"Take All Necessary Measures Regardless of Jurisdiction"

On the morning of the 25th, Kim Tae-heum, Governor of South Chungcheong Province, visited the site of the bridge collapse accident at the Sejong-Anseong Expressway construction site in Seobuk-gu, Cheonan City, and ordered the full mobilization of all available personnel and equipment for support.

The Sejong-Anseong Expressway, which connects Janggun-myeon in Sejong City to Geumgwang-myeon in Anseong City, Gyeonggi Province, is a 55.9 km project that began construction in December 2019 and is scheduled for completion in December 2026. Construction is currently in full swing.

The bridge collapse accident occurred at 9:50 a.m. while connecting the Cheongnyongcheon Bridge in Seobuk-gu, Cheonan City. The deck collapsed during the connection work, resulting in four deaths, five people seriously injured, and one person with minor injuries as of 3 p.m.

During his visit to the accident site in the morning, Governor Kim was briefed on the circumstances by fire authorities and emphasized, "Since the accident area covers both Gyeonggi Province and South Chungcheong Province, all necessary measures should be taken without regard to jurisdiction to ensure a swift and thorough response."

Initially, the South Chungcheong Fire Headquarters took the lead in commanding the on-site response, but since the accident site is close to Anseong City in Gyeonggi Province, the command authority has been transferred to the Gyeonggi Province Joint Comprehensive Support Headquarters. However, since the area also falls under South Chungcheong Province, Governor Kim requested that every effort be made to provide support as needed by the Gyeonggi Province Joint Support Headquarters.

Immediately after receiving the accident report in the morning, the South Chungcheong Fire Headquarters issued a Level 2 response, urgently deploying 69 personnel, 21 fire trucks, and rescue equipment for casualty rescue, taking proactive measures for accident management.

The province immediately dispatched officials responsible for social disaster response, including Safety Planning Officer Jeong Nakdo, to assess the situation on site. At the same time, a meeting was held, presided over by Choi Dongseok, Director of the Provincial Construction and Transportation Bureau, with relevant department officials in attendance to discuss support measures for accident management. All efforts are being made for efficient and stable accident response.