Police cordon off the area around the Seosomun Overpass in central Seoul’s Migeun neighborhood following a collapse that left three dead on May 26, 2026. (Lim Jae-woo/Hankyoreh)
Three workers were killed and another three injured when part of the upper deck of the Seosomun Overpass collapsed during safety testing for its planned demolition.The overpass in question is located in central Seoul and has both road and railway traffic traveling under it.According to accounts on Tuesday from the Seodaemun Fire Station, the Seoul government, and police, a portion of the upper deck suddenly broke away and fell to the ground at the demolition site for the Seosomun Overpass in the Migeun neighborhood of Seoul’s Seodaemun District at around 2:30 that afternoon.Three people were killed in the accident, including a construction site management office chief, a senior engineering supervisory team director, and an outside safety inspector. Three other workers involved in the construction were taken to the hospital for serious injuries to their heads, ribs and backs.The Seoul Metropolitan Infrastructure Headquarters has been working on the Seosomun Overpass’s demolition since April 2025, with a target completion date of late July this year. The collapse Tuesday happened during a safety inspection after defects were discovered during the preparation process.“Construction was halted after a step collapsed during the cutting of a slab at 2:30 this morning, and a safety inspection had been taking place since 2 pm,” a city official explained.The Seosomun Overpass connects directly with portions of central Seoul, including City Hall and Chungcheong Road. The area underneath includes not only roads but also the Gyeongui-Jungang commuter rail and the KTX high-speed train lines. Rail traffic over those routes was suspended Tuesday due to the collapse.After receiving a report on the incident, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung issued directions to “undertake full-scale recovery efforts and treatment for the injured.”Campaigning for the Seoul mayoral election was also put on pause as several candidates — Chong Won-o from the Democratic Party, Oh Se-hoon from the People Power Party, Kim Jeong-cheol from the Reform Party, and Kwon Yeong-guk from the Justice Party — went to visit the scene of the accident.By Lim Jae-woo, staff reporter; Jang Hyeon-eun, staff reporter; Seo Young-ji, staff reporter; Yu Young-jae, staff reporterPlease direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]
