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| Residents check a sinkhole in a sidewalk in Songpa District, southern Seoul, Wednesday. This is the latest in a series of sinkholes believed to be caused by the construction of subway line No. 9 in the area over the past few months. / Yonhap |
City Hall blames subway builder after Lotte cleared
By Jung Min-ho
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| Park Won-soon |
However, it seems the city government knew how serious the situation was a long time before that sinkhole and others were reported by the media.
According to road and bridge management offices in Seoul on Tuesday, 115 sinkholes have appeared in the capital and 82 in its southern districts over the past five years. But the SMG only reported 14 cases to the National Assembly ahead of the annual parliamentary audits set to begin next Tuesday.
Speaking to The Korea Times, an SMG official in charge of the city government's road safety management said the 115 holes included those above underground pipelines, which he did not consider to be sinkholes.
"We believed they were closer to road damage," he said. "Only 14 cases created deep holes over the pipelines, which were buried 1 to 1.2 meters deep."
Still, the SMG did not take the issue seriously until very recently.
When several sinkholes appeared in Songpa district, southern Seoul, the SMG blamed the Lotte World Tower construction for them.
But on Aug. 13, the SMG shifted the responsibility to Samsung Construction & Trade (C&T), which has been building an extension of subway line No. 9.
Still, that conclusion appears to be far from a sure thing.
"After removing the scenarios we certainly believed were not the cause of the sinkholes, we now speculate that the subway extension could likely be it," the SMG official said.
While relieved officials related to the Lotte World Tower construction are trying to keep their distance from the problem, Samsung C&T is anxiously waiting for the final results of the SMG's investigation.
"After our international investigation, we also believe that the sinkholes were not caused by the tower, but by the subway extension," a Lotte official said.
Samsung C&T is now taking the blame for "poor management of the project." The firm has issued a statement to apologize for the sinkholes, but claims that, "There were not any noticeable problems during the construction," a company official said.
Founded in 1938, Samsung C&T has been a leading Korean trading and construction company. Meanwhile, the fears over sinkholes have grown and they are not solely confined to the city limits of Seoul.
According to a recent survey conducted by a civic group, 95.2 percent of residents in Gyeonggi Province are afraid of sinkholes. And 79.6 percent of respondents believe they are at physical risk because of them.
Sinkholes are usually formed after the surface layer sinks due to an empty space underneath it. Erosion underground usually causes them, but those recently found in busy city districts were most likely caused by nearby construction, experts said.
A special inspection team, formed by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, is looking into risky areas where sinkholes can cause serious damage, in cooperation with the Korea Institute of Geo-science and Mineral Resources and the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology.
The team will soon inspect an extension to Seoul subway line No. 9 and a Gyeonggi Province railroad, which are currently under construction.
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