Korea Rail Network Authority appoints 12th design review committee to evaluate Southern Inland Railway bids

The Korea Rail Network Authority announced Thursday that it had presented appointment certificates to 135 members of its 12th technical advisory design review subcommittee and held an integrity pledge workshop. The newly appointed members were selected through an open recruitment process in March and comprise internal and external experts across nine fields, including railway planning and civil engineering structures. They will be responsible for evaluating design documents for technology-based competitive bidding projects from this month through March next year.

At the integrity pledge workshop held alongside the appointment ceremony, members took a formal integrity oath to reinforce the foundation for fair and transparent reviews. The authority also shared the operational guidelines for its integrity reporting and reward program — established in April last year to root out corrupt dealings between bidders and review committee members — along with planned future revisions, to strengthen members' commitment to ethical conduct.

The newly formed committee will begin reviewing major railway projects this month. Starting with the Southern Inland Railway's Section 10 (basic design technical proposal), the panel will go on to handle design reviews for Sections 1, 7 and 9 of the same line (detailed design technical proposals) in September.

Of the Southern Inland Railway's 14 sections, 10 broke ground in December, while the remaining four will undergo design reviews this year before final qualified contractors are selected.

Lee An-ho, acting president of the Korea Rail Network Authority, said design review is "a core process for securing the safety and reliability of railway construction," and urged committee members to "work toward building a fair bidding culture grounded in high expertise and a strong sense of integrity."

Meanwhile, the Korea Rail Network Authority signed a four-party MOU in April to enhance audit expertise and strengthen anti-corruption cooperation.