▲ Kim Sung-bo, Acting Mayor of Seoul, holds a briefing at Seoul City Hall on May 25 regarding the construction of the Yeongdong-daero Complex Development Section 3, where rebar omissions were discovered in the GTX-A line.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced 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.
In a statement to the media, the city government said, "Regarding the reports on construction errors in the Yeongdong-daero Complex Development project, we plan to file a lawsuit for a correction and damages against Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC), its news director, and the reporter in charge, as the reports distorted and exaggerated facts, causing significant misunderstanding and confusion among citizens."
The city explained, "As the commissioning agency, the Seoul Metropolitan Infrastructure Headquarters feels a deep sense of responsibility for the construction company's errors. Immediately upon being notified of the issue by the contractor, we conducted on-site safety inspections, finalized reinforcement plans, and shared these measures with higher authorities."
The city added, "We have continuously communicated with the public by holding press briefings and distributing press releases to ensure a thorough investigation into the truth."
The city further argued, "MBC aired a total of 76 reports on this incident between May 15 and June 3. By going beyond simple criticism of municipal administration and repeatedly claiming that the city intentionally covered up or ignored the construction errors, the broadcaster has severely damaged public trust in Seoul's administration."
Regarding MBC's report that "the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Mayor Oh Se-hoon are responsible for the construction and supervision," the city clarified, "According to the bidding notice, the actual entity for the project's demand and contract procurement is the Seoul Metropolitan Infrastructure Headquarters, while construction is performed by the contractor and supervision is carried out by a responsible supervisory firm."
Furthermore, the city 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 the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in January of this year, nor the emergency safety inspection in May. No cracks were identified in the columns on the fifth basement floor."
The city also pointed out that MBC's use of phrases such as "Seoul City keeping its mouth shut" and "Seoul City playing dumb" were "sensationalist expressions, despite the fact that the city had been continuously sending relevant reports to the Korea National Railway since November of last year through January of this year, following proper procedures."
The Seoul Metropolitan Government emphasized, "We express strong regret over acts that infringe upon citizens' right to know through sensational headlines not based on facts and irresponsible, suspicion-driven reporting," adding, "We will hold them strictly accountable through legal means 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.