Korail worker killed by train at Uiwang Station
A Korail employee was killed after being struck by a train during shunting work at Uiwang Station in Gyeonggi. Authorities are investigating whether railway safety rules were followed.
A coupled KTX and SRT train sits at a platform at Seoul Station in central Seoul on Aug. 2.
YONHAP
A Korail employee was killed after being run over by a train at Uiwang Station in Uiwang, Gyeonggi, on Saturday morning.
The man was working at around 7:20 a.m. inside the station on the Gyeongbu Line when he was caught under a train, according to fire and rescue authorities.
Rescue personnel were dispatched after a station official reported that an employee appeared to be trapped under a train. The man was dead when they arrived at the scene.
Passenger trains passing through the station are still running, while shunting operations have been suspended.
The Seoul Railway Special Judicial Police believe the man was working as a shunter, whose job is to stand alongside the tracks and communicate with the train driver by radio while trains are being moved.
Under occupational safety standards set by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, shunting drivers and shunters are required to communicate using designated signals while trains are being moved, effectively requiring them to work in teams of at least two.
Korail said it is still determining how many workers, including the victim, were assigned to the site at the time of the accident.
The Railway Special Judicial Police and the Labor Ministry will investigate the circumstances of the accident, focusing on whether safety regulations, including the requirement to work in teams of at least two, were properly followed.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Saturday morning that it would determine the cause of the accident, take stern action under a zero-tolerance policy and draw up measures to strengthen railway safety.
Korail said it would fully cooperate with investigations by the relevant authorities and implement emergency safety measures to prevent similar accidents.
Workplace accidents resulting in deaths and injuries have continued to occur at Korail worksites.
In November 2022, two Korail employees were killed or injured while performing shunting operations for a freight train at Obong Station in Uiwang, Gyeonggi.
In August 2024, two Korail employees were killed, and another was injured after being struck by inspection and maintenance equipment at Guro Station in Seoul.
BY YOON SEUNG-JIN [[email protected]]
