As a string of simultaneous sinkholes has rattled Busan and deepened public anxiety, the government is pushing to establish a dedicated underground safety unit at the Busan Regional Office of Land Management.
The move aims to build a national-level control tower that goes beyond the local government-led, post-incident recovery approach — one that continuously monitors underground safety assessments and their implementation from the large-scale excavation stage onward.
The policy decision reflects the recurring ground subsidence that has plagued Busan in recent months. In April, seven sections of road collapsed in quick succession near the entrances and exits of the Manduk–Centum urban expressway, a deep-bore tunnel that had opened just two months earlier, affecting areas around the Suyeonggang underground road and the Naeseong underground road. The incidents were later attributed to human error: inadequate backfilling after large-scale underground excavation, compounded by water seepage during the spring thaw.
Ground weakening around major construction sites has also come to light elsewhere in the city. A special investigation by the Busan city government found evidence that the Sasang–Hadan urban railway construction section was built differently from the approved design documents. More than 80 cases of ground subsidence have been reported in Busan over the past five years.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is pursuing the creation of a dedicated department within the Busan regional office to monitor sinkhole activity in advance and prevent the spread of public alarm. The unit would improve the efficiency of reviewing underground safety assessments across the Yeongnam region, verifying post-groundbreaking inspection reports and tracking incidents.
The plan also reflects widespread calls for a specialized organization capable of detecting warning signs early, given the Yeongnam region's characteristics — soft ground near the Nakdong River estuary and active underground development along the coast.
The ministry plans to move beyond passive inspections and launch data-driven surveys of high-risk zones, directing the Korea Infrastructure Safety Corporation to substantially expand its ground-penetrating radar equipment and specialist workforce.
In addition, the unit will establish a standing coordination framework with the Busan city government and the Korea Infrastructure Safety Corporation to proactively survey areas at high risk of sinkholes. "By establishing a dedicated underground safety organization, we will build an effective, field-centered monitoring system and fundamentally resolve the public's anxiety about what lies beneath their feet," a ministry official said.
smh@heraldcorp.com
