S. Korea to overhaul demolition safety rules after Seosomun overpass collapse

South Korea is launching a joint public-private task force to strengthen safety management during the demolition of aging infrastructure such as bridges, following the collapse of Seoul's Seosomun overpass.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said it will hold a kickoff meeting in Seoul on Tuesday afternoon for the task force, which brings together 15 experts from industry, academia, research institutes and government agencies to share views on strengthening safety management and discuss how the body will operate going forward.

Participants include the Korea Federation of Construction Contractors, the Korea Specialty Contractors Association, the Korea Infrastructure Safety Association, the Korea Construction Engineers Association, the Korea Construction Engineering Association, the Korean Society of Civil Engineers, the Korean Society of Safety in Construction, the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology, the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements, the Korea Infrastructure Safety Corporation, Korea Expressway Corporation, and construction engineering, general and specialty construction, and safety inspection firms.

The task force, led by the ministry's director general for technology and safety policy, will review the full safety management framework — from safety inspections of aging facilities to the design, construction and supervision stages of demolition projects. The ministry has divided the body into four working groups covering design, construction and supervision, safety inspection, and regulatory support. Their mandate is to examine demolition design methods and procedures, the effectiveness of safety inspections, and qualification requirements for demolition contractors, and to develop fundamental improvements.

"Following last November's demolition collapse at an Ulsan thermal power plant, which killed seven people, another fatal accident occurred last month during the demolition of Seoul's Seosomun overpass," said Kim Myung-jun, the ministry's director general for technology and safety policy. "We take the dangers of demolition work and the need for stronger oversight very seriously, and we will move quickly to put in place safety management measures that actually work."