Five Gyeonggi Province Mayors to Jointly Respond for Safe Construction of Sinansanseon

Gwangmyeong, Hwaseong, Ansan, Anyang, and Siheung Issue Joint Proposal
Local Governments Demand Authority Over Construction Site Management and Other Measures

The heads of five local governments in Gyeonggi-do, whose jurisdictions are included in the Sinansanseon subway construction section, are establishing a joint response system to prevent a recurrence of construction site collapse accidents and to ensure safe construction.

Mayors of five cities in Gyeonggi-do included in the Sinansanseon construction section are announcing the "Joint Proposal for Safe Construction of Sinansanseon." (From left) Mayor Daeho Choi of Anyang, Mayor Myeonggeun Jeong of Hwaseong, Mayor Seungwon Park of Gwangmyeong, Mayor Mingeun Lee of Ansan, Mayor Byungtaek Lim of Siheung. Provided by Gwangmyeong City

On the morning of May 15, the mayors of five municipalities?Gwangmyeong, Anyang, Siheung, Hwaseong, and Ansan?announced the "Joint Proposal for Safe Construction of Sinansanseon Metropolitan Railway by Local Governments Along the Route" at the main conference room of Gwangmyeong City Hall.

This initiative was prompted by the consensus that, following last month's collapse accident at the Sinansanseon construction site?which resulted in casualties and inconvenienced nearby residents?strong government-level measures are needed to alleviate public anxiety and prevent similar accidents from recurring.

The proposal includes five key demands: ▲ institutionalizing regular participation of citizens and experts in major construction processes to ensure transparency; ▲ establishing a legal basis for local governments to participate in construction site inspections and accident investigation committees within their jurisdictions; ▲ special government management and support for prompt restoration of accident sites and resolution of daily inconveniences; ▲ regularization of working-level consultative meetings between local governments along the Sinansanseon route and the project operator; and ▲ conducting a comprehensive safety inspection of the entire Sinansanseon section.

The five local governments proposed establishing a cooperative framework involving citizens, experts, construction companies, and project operators to ensure transparent information sharing and address civil complaints during the restoration of the accident site and the resumption of major construction processes. They also suggested forming a working-level consultative body with the participation of relevant local governments.

They specifically recommended amending the "Construction Technology Promotion Act" and the "Special Act on Underground Safety Management" to allow local governments to participate in on-site inspections of construction projects within their jurisdictions.

They also requested special government management and prompt restoration to help residents return to their daily lives and normalize the project. This request was made out of concern that delays in restoration and project normalization due to the construction site collapse could prolong inconveniences for residents.

Currently, the overall progress rate of the Sinansanseon project is about 55%. The opening, originally scheduled for April 2025, has been postponed to December next year, but even this timeline is now inevitably subject to further delays due to the recent collapse accident.

In the proposal, the local governments also called for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to conduct a comprehensive safety inspection of the entire Sinansanseon route to alleviate public anxiety.

The five local governments agreed to continue cooperating and jointly responding to ensure the safe and transparent progress of the Sinansanseon project in the future.

Park Seungwon, Mayor of Gwangmyeong, said, "Fundamental measures and institutional improvements must follow to ensure that accidents like this collapse do not happen again," adding, "I hope this serves as the foundation for establishing a systematic safety management system through cooperation between the national and local governments."