POSCO E&C apologizes after worker killed at Shinansan Line site

Dec 19, 2025, 08:43 am

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Song Chi-young, CEO of POSCO E&C, bows in apology at the site of the Shinansan Line accident near Yeouido Station in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, on December 18. / Source: Yonhap News

A fatal accident at a Shinansan Line construction site in Seoul’s Yeouido district has left one worker dead, prompting an apology from POSCO E&C, the project’s main contractor, and renewed scrutiny of the company’s safety management.

POSCO E&C said a worker was killed at the underground construction site near Exit 2 of Yeouido Station in Yeongdeungpo-gu on December 18. The accident marks another serious industrial fatality on the same rail line, following a similar tunnel collapse earlier this year.

POSCO E&C CEO Song Chi-young visited the site on the evening of December 18 and issued a public apology. “As the company’s top executive, I bow my head in deep apology over the loss of a valued colleague in this tragic accident,” Song said.

He added that the company was taking the incident “with the utmost seriousness,” noting that the accident occurred despite company-wide safety reinforcement measures implemented after the Shinansan Line tunnel collapse in April.

Song said the cause of the accident was being thoroughly investigated in cooperation with relevant authorities. “We will cooperate sincerely and transparently throughout the entire investigation process,” he said, pledging that the company would not evade responsibility. He also said POSCO E&C would provide full support to the bereaved family and maintain close communication.

The accident occurred at around 1:22 p.m. during concrete pouring work at a depth of about 70 meters underground. A reinforcing steel structure collapsed while an arched tunnel section was being formed, striking a worker in his 50s identified only as A. He was taken to hospital in cardiac arrest but later died.

A was a driver of a concrete pouring vehicle and had exited the vehicle to assist with work when he was struck by falling steel reinforcement, according to initial findings. Another worker in his 50s sustained an ankle injury and is receiving treatment. At the time of the accident, 98 workers were on site, and no additional casualties were reported.

The Shinansan Line is a 44.9-kilometer metropolitan railway project connecting Ansan in Gyeonggi Province with Yeouido in Seoul. In April, a tunnel collapse in the Gwangmyeong section of the same line, also built by POSCO E&C, resulted in the death of another worker.

With two fatal accidents occurring on the Shinansan Line within eight months, critics say a comprehensive review of POSCO E&C’s on-site safety systems and stronger measures to prevent a recurrence are unavoidable.

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