Value context and insight. lkm@koreatimes.co.kr
Hyundai Rotem ordered to pay for defects in KTX-Sancheon
KTX-Sancheon
By Lee Kyung-min
Court recognizes defects in high-speed train
By Lee Kyung-min
A court ordered Hyundai Rotem, the manufacturer of the high-speed KTX-Sancheon train, Tuesday, to compensate Korail, the state-run rail firm, for financial damage caused by defects in the train.
Korail filed a compensation suit against the train manufacturer, affiliated with Hyundai Motor, in 2011, claiming 64 malfunctions in KTX-Sancheon trains, reported between April 2010 and January 2013, resulted in financial damage of 7.9 billion won ($7.2 million).
Seoul Central District Court ruled in favor of Korail and ordered Hyundai Rotem to pay some 6.9 billion won to Korail, saying the firm was responsible for defects in the trains.
“Some of the trains were recalled, which caused Korail to operate with fewer trains, resulting in a loss in operating profit,” the judge said in his ruling.
“Out of the total 6.9 billion-won compensation, 6.75 billion won is for the loss of operating profit, and 108 million won is for customer refunds,” the judge added.
The defect compensation claim suit against the train manufacturer is the first of its kind after series of accidents caused by malfunctions.
Introduced in 2010, the train, which runs at 300 kilometer per hour, was under constant public and media scrutiny for brake and wheel defects.
These could have caused high-speed collisions or derailments.
In February 2011, a train derailed at Gwangmyung Station, Gyeonggi Province, leaving no casualties.
The cause of the accident was a brake malfunction, the government said at the time.
Following many such incidents, the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) in 2012 released a report confirming the number of train accidents increased since the model was introduced in 2010.
According to the Korea Railway Workers’ Union, since 2010, 388 defects were found on KTX-Sancheon trains with 136 still unresolved.
Korail said the detected problems were properly fixed and no additional safety issues have been raised.