2 subway workers killed, 1 injured at Guro station

According to the fire department and the Korea Railroad Corporation, two workers were killed and another was seriously injured on Friday morning while conducting maintenance work on the tracks at Guro Station on Line 1 of the Seoul Subway.

Korail workers were carrying out maintenance work on the overhead line on a mobile aerial work platform when they were hit by a track inspection train on an adjacent track at around 2:21 a.m. local time.

The collision caused workers to fall, resulting in the deaths of two employees in their early 30s. Another employee in his 40s suffered a broken leg and was taken to a nearby hospital. All of the victims were confirmed to be Korail employees.

Korail has set up an accident response team on site and is working with the police to investigate the exact cause of the collision and accident.

Korail expressed his deep regret over the incident and said: “We will carry out the funeral arrangements and all subsequent actions with the utmost respect and care.”

In addition, the Department of Employment and Labour is examining whether the workplace safety law, the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, should be used in this case.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport also dispatched an emergency response team to the site.

The ministry said: “We are determined to conduct a thorough investigation into compliance with safety regulations and protocols for worker safety, such as preventing mutual interference during train maintenance, and to take measures to prevent a recurrence of such a tragic accident.”

As a result of the recovery work following the accident, ten commuter trains and five high-speed trains on the Gyeongbu Line were delayed by 10 to 30 minutes until they arrived at around 5:40 a.m. Since then, train service has fully resumed without further disruption.

Workers have been killed during routine maintenance of subways and trains in Korea. For example, in 2016, there was the tragic case of a 19-year-old irregular worker for a subcontractor who died while working alone to repair a sliding glass door on the platform of Guui Station. Because he did not have the proper personnel to act as a guard, he was crushed to death when a train pulled in while he was repairing the glass door. This sparked widespread public protests demanding better safety measures and improved conditions for workers.