Three people, including the mayor of Cheongju, were indicted for the first time for a "critical civil disaster."

[Anchor]
In connection with the Osong Underpass Disaster in which 14 people were killed, the prosecution indicted three people, including Lee Beom-seok, mayor of Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, without detention on charges of serious civil disasters under the Serious Disaster Punishment Act.This is the first case to be put on trial on charges of serious civil disasters since the enforcement of the

Act.

This is reporter Lee Sung-woo.

[Reporter]
In July 2023, the "Osong Gungpyeong 2 Underground Road Disaster" in which 14 people were killed when the underground roadway was submerged due to the collapse of the Miho River temporary embankment.

A year and a half after the disaster, three people, Lee Beom-seok, mayor of Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, and Lee Sang-rae, former head of the Administrative Complex City Construction Agency, were indicted without detention on charges of serious civil disasters under the Serious Disaster Penalty Act.

This is the first time that a person has been charged with a serious civil accident since the enforcement of the Severe Accident Punishment Act in 2022.

Mayor Lee Beom-seok was entrusted with the maintenance of the embankment, but he was accused of not improving the manpower and budget situation even though the relevant departments performed poorly due to lack of manpower and budget.

Former Commissioner Lee Sang-rae is accused of visiting the construction site in preparation for the rainy season and not ordering the restoration of the embankment even after checking the incision in person.

The prosecution handed over the company's former CEO A and the corporation, who constructed the temporary system, to trial on the same charges.

On the other hand, North Chungcheong Province Governor Kim Young-hwan, who was sued and accused by bereaved families and civic groups along with Mayor Lee, was disposed of without charges.

Considering that Chungcheongbuk-do conducted normal safety inspections on the underground roadway of the accident and made efforts to secure the budget for installing safety facilities, it was judged as insufficient evidence.

As three more people, including Mayor Lee Beom-seok, were indicted, the number of people handed over to trial in connection with the Osong disaster increased to 45.

I'm YTN's Lee Sungwoo.


Video editing: Lee Young-hoon
Design: Jeon Whee Lin