Seoul Overpass Collapses During Demolition, Leaving 3 Dead
- Dogeon Lim
- Jun 6
- 2 min read
June 6, 2026
Dogeon Lim
A tragic accident happened on Tuesday afternoon when a part of the Seosomun Overpass in Seoul fell down during a demolition project. The Seosomun Overpass collapse resulted in three workers dying and three others getting hurt.
The emergency people said that a section of the road above the ground near the Chungjeongro railroad crossing fell down all of a sudden at around 2:33 p.m. The fire fighters quickly launched a rescue operation, but one worker who was taken to the hospital in critical condition died later which made the number of people who died three.
The disaster actually struck when some experts were conducting an emergency safety check. The night the workers saw that the bridge had moved 2.9 centimeters during the work of cutting the concrete. Work was stopped immediately.
At 2:00 p.m. The day a team of nine experts, including city officials and the people who design the structures of buildings went onto the Seosomun Overpass to inspect the danger. While they were looking at the area a big beam that supports the Seosomun Overpass suddenly broke, which made the top part of the road fall down. The Seosomun Overpass project was almost done, 89% when this accident happened.
The Seosomun Overpass collapse destroyed the power lines above which stopped the transportation from working. KORAIL had to stop the KTX and Gyeongui-Jungang Line trains that go through that area. Major roads near Seodaemun Station were also blocked, forcing the city to add extra buses for frustrated rush-hour commuters
President Lee Jae-myung ordered immediate support for the victims. The people who are running for Mayor of Seoul stopped their election campaigns out of respect and rushed to the scene to monitor the recovery.
