Minister Park Sang-woo of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport visited the Han River tunnel construction site between Gimpo and Paju, emphasizing that "safety must be prioritized at every construction stage, especially for complex projects."
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 15th, Minister Park visited the Han River tunnel construction site included in the Second Gyeonggi Beltway to inspect the excavation progress and safety management system. This site inspection is part of a government-wide safety management period that began on the 14th, during which the Ministry has started safety inspections at 939 nationwide infrastructure facilities, including roads, railroads, and airports.
The Han River tunnel, which broke ground in February 2019, is the country's first submerged road tunnel under the Han River, with a total length of 2,980 meters being excavated using the tunnel boring machine (TBM) method. Minister Park emphasized that "this site embodies both technological challenges and symbolic significance in the underground infrastructure sector."
Minister Park noted that "constructing underground tunnels is a complex project governed by factors such as groundwater pressure and soil stability," and urged that "all site personnel must remain vigilant and fully commit to safety management."
During this intensive inspection period, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is proactively inspecting disaster and accident-prone facilities such as public rental housing, bridges, logistics warehouses, and demolition sites in collaboration with its affiliated institutions. The selected facilities were prioritized based on accident history, geographical factors, and seasonal risk levels.
In particular, during inspections in areas difficult to visually inspect, such as rooftops of traditional markets and the undersides of bridges, advanced equipment like drones, thermal imaging cameras, and ground-penetrating radar (GPR) are being used for precise measurement.