Six-Year Prison Sentence for Site Manager in Cheongju Underpass Tragedy

The site manager responsible for the poorly constructed embankment linked to the Cheongju underpass disaster, which claimed 14 lives, has been sentenced to six years in prison by the Supreme Court of South Korea. The court upheld the original sentence for charges including negligent homicide and evidence tampering against the 56-year-old manager, referred to as A.

The tragic incident occurred on July 15, 2023, when the Miho River, a major tributary of the Geum River, overflowed. Investigations revealed that the disaster was caused by inadequate construction work on the nearby Miho Bridge expansion project. A and his team were found to have unlawfully demolished an existing embankment and poorly constructed a temporary one between 2021 and 2023. When the flood hit, the temporary embankment collapsed, leading to the inundation of the underpass.

Following the incident, A was also accused of forging documents related to the temporary embankment and submitting them to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the police to evade responsibility.

In the first trial, the court stated that the disaster was not a natural calamity but rather a result of A's gross negligence, imposing the maximum sentence of seven years and six months. However, the appellate court reduced the sentence to six years, considering A's status as a first-time offender and the fact that the incident could not be solely attributed to him.

The Supreme Court confirmed that there were no errors in the lower court's judgment regarding the establishment of negligent homicide. Additionally, the project manager overseeing the construction has also received a four-year prison sentence from the Supreme Court last month.