[KoreaCase] Seongsu Bridge Collapse
On the morning of October 21, 1994, at approximately 7:38 AM, a tragic accident occurred when a section of the Seongsu Bridge, managed by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, collapsed into the Han River. The upper truss structure between piers 10 and 11, spanning roughly 50 meters, gave way without warning.
The collapse claimed 32 lives and injured 17 others, resulting in a total of 49 casualties. Among the victims were students commuting to school, passengers on public transportation, and a foreign national. A city bus carrying high school students was the most severely affected, with 29 of 31 passengers losing their lives.
The investigation pointed to two main causes. First, poor construction and design flaws were evident. The welded connections of the truss were defective, and the bridge had suffered from serious corrosion. Despite these issues, the bridge was not properly inspected or maintained. Second, the bridge regularly bore the load of overweight trucks, far exceeding its design load of 32 tons (DB-18 standard). This additional stress significantly contributed to the structural failure.
Immediately after the disaster, the Seoul Metropolitan Government established an emergency response team. Rescue operations involved the police, firefighters, and marine salvage divers. The city reorganized bus routes, installed detour signs, and reevaluated traffic signal timings to handle the traffic fallout.
The collapse led to the dismissal of the then-mayor of Seoul and intense scrutiny of other aging bridges across the nation. Despite initial discussions about repairing the remaining sections of the bridge, public sentiment led to a full reconstruction. Construction began in April 1995 and the new bridge opened partially in July 1997, with further expansions completed by 2004.
The Seongsu Bridge disaster served as a wake-up call to the dangers of complacency in public safety. It sparked nationwide inspections of bridges and public infrastructure, and remains a defining moment in South Korea’s civil engineering and safety history.
