Infrastructure failures raise safety concerns
A derailed KTX train lies across the tracks in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, Saturday. Fifteen of the 198 passengers onboard suffered minor injuries. / YonhapBy Lee Suh-yoonAn underground fire blacks out communication, a hot water pipe bursts, a KTX train derails ― a string of high-profile infrastructure failures have plagued the nation in recent weeks, making Koreans question the safety and reliability of basic services they once took for granted.Poor maintenance and disaster prevention measures were common factors in the incidents. In the fire at KT's network tunnel, which cut off hundreds of thousands from phone and internet connections, Nov. 24, the telecom company did not have a worker stationed there or an automatic fire response system. Similarly, the Dec. 4 pipe rupture in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, which unleashed a scalding flood that claimed one life and left thousands of households without hot water or heating for hours, could have been prevented with regular inspections. Saturday's derailment of a KTX train on the new Seoul-Gangneung line, which opened a year ago in time
Dec 10, 2018
