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Korail CEO offers to resign following fatal train accident in North Gyeongsang

Published: 21 Aug. 2025, 14:52 Updated: 21 Aug. 2025, 19:03

A funeral wreath from Han Moon-hee, Korail's CEO, stands at the altar for victims of the Mugunghwa train accident at the funeral hall in Cheongdo County, North Gyeongsang, on Aug. 19. [YONHAP]

Korail CEO Han Moon-hee offered to step down Thursday, days after a train accident in Cheongdo County, North Gyeongsang, left two workers dead and others injured.

Han submitted his resignation, citing his responsibility for the accident, according to Korail and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. His resignation has not yet been accepted.

Han was appointed CEO of Korail in July 2023 under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, and his term was scheduled to end on July 23 next year.

The accident occurred around 10:50 a.m. on Aug. 19 on the Gyeongbu Line between Namseonghyeon and Cheongdo stations. A Mugunghwa train bound for Jinju from Dongdaegu Station struck seven workers who were moving near the tracks for a maintenance inspection. Two were killed, and the others suffered serious injuries.

The workers had reportedly been performing a slope inspection — a task ordered by Korail — raising questions about the company’s safety oversight.

Despite a series of fatal incidents in recent years, Korail’s government management evaluation grades have shown steady improvement. After receiving the lowest “E” rating in both 2021 and 2022, the company’s grade rose to “D” in 2023 and “C” this year, largely due to improved financial performance, including reduced operating losses.

A Mugunghwa train bound for Masan is seen traveling at a slower speed as Korail, police and fire authorities inspect a scene near Cheongdo, North Gyeongsang, after a train hit seven railway workers on Aug. 19. [NEWS1]

However, Korail’s safety management remains a point of concern. The company received a “grade 4 (poor)” for safety in 2022 and a “grade 3 (average)” in 2023. Yet it remained at the bottom “E” rating for efforts to reduce fatal accidents for three consecutive years, from 2022 to 2024.

Major incidents include a worker’s death at Obong Station in 2022, a fatal maintenance accident at Guro Station in 2023, and the latest deaths in Cheongdo. Critics argue that Korail has prioritized financial recovery over safety management.

Changes to the state-run evaluation system during the Yoon administration may have also played a role. The weighting for safety and disaster management dropped from four points to two, while the weight for financial performance doubled from 10 to 20. This shift allowed the company’s overall score to rise despite continued failures in safety.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor has given Korail a “C” grade for four consecutive years in its own safety activity assessments. The ministry is urging the Ministry of Economy and Finance to increase the weight of industrial safety in management evaluations and plans to release safety grades for all public institutions starting next year. New indicators, such as efforts to reduce fatal accidents, will also be introduced.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JEONG JAE-HONG,KIM MIN-YOUNG [[email protected]]