▲ Kim Seong-bo, then-acting mayor of Seoul (Vice Mayor for Administrative Affairs), holds a briefing at Seoul City Hall on May 25 regarding the construction of the Yeongdong-daero Integrated Development, where rebar omissions were discovered in the GTX-A line project.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced today (June 16) that it will file a civil lawsuit against MBC, claiming that the broadcaster's reports regarding rebar omissions in the construction of the Great Train Express (GTX)-A line were distorted and exaggerated.
Seoul City informed the media today that it "plans to file a lawsuit for a correction and damages against Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC), its news director, and the reporter in charge, regarding reports on construction errors in the Yeongdong-daero Integrated Development project that distorted and exaggerated facts, causing significant misunderstanding and confusion among citizens."
The city explained, "The Seoul Metropolitan Government's Infrastructure Headquarters, as the ordering agency, feels a deep sense of responsibility for the construction company's errors. Immediately after being notified by the contractor, we conducted on-site safety inspections, finalized reinforcement plans, and shared them with higher authorities."
The city added, "We have consistently communicated with the public by holding press briefings and distributing press releases to ensure a thorough investigation into the truth."
Seoul City further argued, "MBC aired a total of 76 reports on this incident from May 15 to June 3. Beyond simple criticism of municipal administration, they repeatedly reported content suggesting that the city intentionally covered up or ignored the construction errors, which has severely damaged trust in Seoul's administration."
Regarding MBC's report that "Seoul City and Mayor Oh Se-hoon are responsible for the construction and supervision," the city explained, "According to the bidding notice, the actual entity for demand and contract procurement for this project is the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Infrastructure Headquarters, while the construction is carried out by the contractor and supervision is performed by the responsible supervisor."
The city also refuted MBC's report that "the rebar omission could be the cause of cracks on the fifth basement floor," stating, "This does not align at all with the results of the joint inspection by advisory committee members from Seoul City and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in January of this year, nor the emergency safety inspection in May. No cracks were found in the columns on the fifth basement floor."
Furthermore, regarding MBC's use of expressions such as "Seoul City keeping its mouth shut" and "Seoul City feigning ignorance," the city pointed out, "Even though the city fulfilled its procedures by continuously sending relevant reports to the Korea National Railway from November of last year to January of this year, they used sensationalist language in their reporting."
Seoul City emphasized, "We express strong regret over acts that infringe upon citizens' right to know through sensational headlines not based on facts and irresponsible, suspicion-raising reports," adding, "We will hold them strictly accountable legally to the end to resolve public anxiety and restore trust in municipal administration."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.