‘President-only cars part of derailed bullet train’

A high-speed KTX train that derailed on the southern outskirts of Seoul last week contained special cars for use by South Korea's president, an official said Monday.

President Lee Myung-bak, however, was not aboard the 10-car train when it jumped off the track near Gwangmyeong Station, southwest of Seoul, on Friday afternoon on its way to Seoul from the southern port city of Busan, according to the official at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.

Three cars of the derailed train are reserved for use by the president and his entourage for regional trips, the official said.

The accident, which led to no injuries or deaths, was found to have been caused by a screw that was not properly tightened following railway repair works, the transport ministry said.

"The presidential cars are not easily detachable. So, they are attached to a train used by ordinary citizens," the official said on the condition of anonymity.

He said a bullet-proof car is used by the president and the other two cars are used by his entourage. The cars are kept vacant even if the president is not aboard the train, he added.(Yonhap)