Gyeonggi Province Implements Special Safety Measures for Underground Construction Sites and Ground Subsidence
[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Kim Gapdong] As the need to strengthen underground safety management grows in the wake of recent accidents including the collapse at the Shinansan Line construction site in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province is enhancing underground safety management by strengthening the operation of the "Gyeonggi Underground Safety Keeper," supporting equipment purchases to enable systematic joint surveys (GPR surveys) of underground facilities by cities and counties, and implementing other measures.
The province announced on the 17th that it will establish and implement special safety measures for ground subsidence with these contents.
The province will first institutionalize the "Gyeonggi Underground Safety Keeper," which is being implemented for the first time in the nation, to strengthen prevention of ground accidents around underground facilities.
The Underground Safety Keeper is a system in which 42 experts in soil, geology, and structural engineering provide on-site advisory services in pairs at underground safety assessment sites (excavation of 10 meters or more), checking compliance with safety management plans and other matters. From 2020 to the present, the province has provided on-site advisory services at 312 underground development projects and 34 underground facility sites. With the ordinance amendment bill (Partial Amendment to the Gyeonggi Province Underground Safety Management and Maintenance Ordinance) passed by the Gyeonggi Province Assembly on the 15th, the province plans to expand expert on-site advisory services and inspections at underground development projects and underground facilities in cities and counties during times of concern for ground subsidence such as the thaw season, rainy season, and heavy rainfall periods.
Additionally, the province will strengthen the operation of the "Gyeonggi Province Underground Facility Safety Management Consultation Body." The province established a consultation body in 2023 with six organizations including public institutions and companies related to underground facilities such as the Korea Electric Power Corporation and Korea Water Resources Corporation. The province plans to expand the semi-annual consultation body operations to year-round operations and to have all 31 cities and counties establish and operate consultation bodies to construct a cooperation system for promoting joint surveys (GPR surveys, Ground Penetrating Radar) of underground facilities and joint responses in case of accidents.
In connection with this, the province plans to coordinate with cities and counties, which are the supervisory entities for ground exploration (GPR surveys), confirm their needs, and provide provincial fund support from the first supplementary budget this year for necessary budgets including equipment purchases, survey costs, and the creation of underground safety maps. GPR survey equipment is expected to cost approximately 200 to 300 million won per unit or 600 to 800 million won depending on the depth of the surface.
The province will also expand inspections of railways and large-scale construction sites within the province. Since conducting special inspections in preparation for ground subsidence (sinkholes) at the Dobongsan-Okjeong Metropolitan Railway construction site on the 2nd, the province will continue to conduct inspections using external experts on construction sites and surrounding areas and will set priority management zones for ground subsidence (road sections) by construction section for special management. In particular, during inspections in the thaw season and rainy season when ground subsidence mainly occurs, the Railway Construction Technology Advisory Committee, Underground Safety Keepers, and relevant cities and counties will conduct joint inspections to ensure proactive measures can be implemented with focus on ground subsidence. After comprehensively reviewing excavation progress and measurement data for each site, the province plans to conduct additional GPR surveys on sections suspected to be dangerous to increase the accuracy and reliability of special inspections.
For railway construction sites commissioned by national and private entities, the province plans to coordinate with relevant organizations to develop specific implementation methods including checks on the proper implementation of safety management plans using the province's Railway Construction Technology Advisory Committee and on-site safety inspections, the establishment of consultation bodies between the province, cities and counties, and contractors to resolve civil complaints from railway construction sites and adjacent areas, and GPR survey support.
Additionally, based on the results of joint inspections conducted last month using the province's Construction Safety Advisory Group at thaw season on construction projects commissioned by the province and private construction sites, the province plans to implement joint inspections on large-scale construction projects where ground subsidence is a concern regarding the establishment of safety management plans and confirmation of on-site conditions, with completion planned before the rainy season.
To prevent ground subsidence caused by damage to water and sewage pipes, the province plans to actively support joint inspections of aging water and sewage pipelines by cities and counties and related organizations during joint inspections of large-scale construction sites in the short term. Additionally, the province plans to designate areas with aging water pipes requiring urgent maintenance due to leaks and areas densely packed with aging sewage pipes where cracks and subsidence have occurred near excavation project sites as priority management areas. During technical diagnosis of water and sewage pipelines, CCTV surveys of priority management areas will be conducted first, and upon confirmation of ground subsidence possibilities, additional detailed surveys and safety measures will be implemented to take ground subsidence prevention measures.
In the long term, the province is conducting first and second phase precision surveys of aging water and sewage pipelines (water pipes 17,917 km, sewage pipes 11,494 km) from 2015 to the present and is implementing maintenance projects in stages by investing a total project budget of 1 trillion 521.6 billion won from 2017 to the present on sections requiring improvement based on the precision survey results. Additionally, the province established a third phase precision survey plan in March to proactively prepare for pipeline aging and plans to continuously promote aging pipeline improvement based on this.
In addition, the province plans to expand experiential education to address various incidents and accidents in industrial sites and establish the Gyeonggi Province Disaster and Safety Research Center to develop and distribute type-specific self-check lists and strengthen safety culture activities that residents empathize with and participate in, such as industrial site monitoring through the "Gyeonggi Province Safety Culture Promotion Council Executive Committee," to minimize damage.
Meanwhile, Gyeonggi Province and Gwangmyeong City proactively evacuated residents including those in nearby apartments immediately after the collapse accident at the Shinansan Line construction site occurred on the 11th. The province quickly prepared emergency relief kits, tents, mats, and other daily necessities at shelters such as the Civic Gymnasium while ensuring rapid return to normal life through immediate emergency safety inspections. Additionally, the province conducted emergency safety inspections targeting adjacent apartments and elementary schools to prevent secondary damage, and 21 households with 55 residents from nearby villages such as Guseokmal around the accident site are currently evacuating to accommodations.
Currently, the province is continuously monitoring safety risk factors by installing nine additional measuring instruments around the site on the day of the collapse and conducting technical advisory services with experts participating. Immediately after the accident, professional organizations including the Korea Architectural Structures Association confirmed risks through safety assessments of nearby apartments and elementary schools, and the elementary school in particular conducted a second phase precision safety diagnosis to confirm safety before implementing normal attendance from the 16th. From the 14th, the province is conducting additional precision safety assessments through professional organizations on buildings such as nearby apartments and commercial buildings, with completion of final reports in mid-May through mid-term reports in early May to secure resident safety. Additionally, measures to prevent additional damage from gas and electricity are being implemented concurrently.
Vice Governor for Administration Kim Seong-joong stated, "In response to successive accidents such as underground construction site collapses and ground subsidence phenomena (sinkholes) causing concern for provincial residents' safety, we will strengthen and implement special safety measures," and added, "Since these matters are closely related to the daily lives of provincial residents, we will do our best in proactive safety management and accident prevention."