1 dead, 6 rescued in underground construction site collapse on Yeouido
Published: 18 Dec. 2025, 14:53
Updated: 18 Dec. 2025, 18:25
![Firefighters and police respond at an underground construction site for the Shinansan Line double-track railway in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Dec. 18 after falling rebar injured at least two workers. [NEWS1]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/12/18/d1a2f73a-4633-4b17-8feb-9a60e807bdb6.jpg)
Firefighters and police respond at an underground construction site for the Shinansan Line double-track railway in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Dec. 18 after falling rebar injured at least two workers. [NEWS1]
A worker died on Thursday after reinforcing steel collapsed at an underground railway construction site near Yeouido Station in western Seoul, police said. He was taken to a hospital after being found unresponsive and later died.
Six other workers were also involved in the accident and were brought out of the site, police said.
The Yeongdeungpo Police Precinct said it received a report at about 1:22 p.m. that reinforcing steel had fallen at a construction site for the Sinansan Line in front of Exit 2 of Yeouido Station on Subway Line No. 5. The accident occurred about 70 meters (230 feet) underground.
Another worker suffered an ankle injury and was also transported to a hospital.
A third worker, a foreign national, made his way to the surface on his own and received treatment at the scene for abrasions to his wrist. The remaining workers gathered at the bottom of a vertical shaft underground and fire authorities rescued all of them by about 2:52 p.m.
Fire officials deployed 21 apparatuses and 83 personnel for the rescue operation.
Authorities believe reinforcing steel fell during concrete pouring. The police plan to investigate whether safety lapses occurred by questioning the rescued workers and the contractor.
![Barricade tape surrounds the scene of an accident at a Shinansan Line construction site near Yeouido Station in western Seoul on Dec. 18, where seven workers were buried. All workers were pulled by rescue workers, one in cardiac arrest. [YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/12/18/90a2c26a-8c79-4303-be6d-d68a404c26e7.jpg)
Barricade tape surrounds the scene of an accident at a Shinansan Line construction site near Yeouido Station in western Seoul on Dec. 18, where seven workers were buried. All workers were pulled by rescue workers, one in cardiac arrest. [YONHAP]
The accident led to traffic restrictions along parts of Uisadang-daero between the National Assembly area heading toward Saetgang Station. Yeongdeungpo District urged drivers to take a detour in a safety alert sent at 2:13 p.m.
The Sinansan Line is a 44.9-kilometer (28-mile) metropolitan railway project linking Ansan in Gyeonggi with Yeouido in Seoul.
Posco E&C is overseeing construction at the section where the accident occurred.
The firm has experienced a series of fatal accidents at its construction sites. Eight deaths have occurred at Posco E&C sites since the Serious Accidents Punishment Act came into force in January 2022, including an accident at an expressway project between Hamyang County and Changnyeong County in South Gyeongsang on July 28 in which a subcontracted worker was killed
In April, a collapse occurred at another Sinansan Line tunnel construction site in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi, resulting in one death. At the time, Posco E&C said it would “establish thorough measures to prevent a recurrence and further strengthen on-site safety management systems.”
Updated, Dec. 18, 2025: Added information on the extraction and condition of the trapped workers, the impact on the vicinity and details about the construction firm's accident history.
Updated, Dec. 18, 2025: Added information about the fatality.
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 CHO MUN-GYU [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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