All 36 Newly Built Railway Stations in the Last 5 Years Have Leaks... "Serious Poor Construction"

Lawmaker Yeom Tae-yeong Questioning [Yonhap News File Photo]

It has been revealed that poor construction is severe, with chronic leaks occurring in all 36 newly built railway stations over the past five years.

According to data obtained by lawmaker Yeom Tae-yeong of the Democratic Party, a member of the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, from Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL) on the 21st, a total of 140 leaks occurred in all 36 railway stations built between 2020 and August of this year.

Of these, 119 leaks occurred within three years of completion, which is the warranty period for defects by the construction company.

The station with the most leaks during this period was Jecheon Station, built in 2021 (21 cases), followed by Seongnam Station, built in 2024 (10 cases), and Ulsan Namchang Station, built in 2021 (6 cases).

Leaks occurring in railway stations nationwide have been confirmed to be increasing annually, with 221 cases in 2022, 301 cases in 2023, and 427 cases last year.

Notably, at Osong Station, Cheonan-Asan Station, and Gyeongju Station, leaks have repeatedly occurred in about 30 locations within each station.

Lawmaker Yeom pointed out that only budgets for leak repair are being allocated without addressing the fundamental causes of the leaks.

"Leaks are already occurring in newly built stations, so superficial defect repairs seem like a 'cure after death'," said Lawmaker Yeom, emphasizing that "Korea National Railway must thoroughly manage and supervise railway station construction to prevent leaks proactively." Yonhap News