In the wake of the KTX derailment on the Gangneung Line, Korea Railway Police has begun an investigation into the cause of the accident. It is unusual for police to immediately launch an internal investigation into the train accident.
According to Yonhap News Agency on Dec. 10, the special law enforcement agency for railroad transportation began an investigation into the KTX accident on the Gangneung Line.
The special police will reportedly turn into a full-scale investigation after sorting out the accident. It has reportedly started a face-to-face investigation into some officials, including those of Korail and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
Currently, the malfunction of the switch is being blamed for the accident. It is heard that some of the cables were wrongly connected to the machine room of the signal center that processes the signal information of the switch.
"We will thoroughly investigate the cause of the error such as the switch and take responsibility for the error," a ministry official said.
"I sincerely apologize to the people for such an accident again," said Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Hyun-mi at the scene of the accident on Dec. 9. "It is difficult for us to watch these situations. We will thoroughly investigate the cause of the accident and take responsibility."
Meanwhile, a KTX train derailed from the tracks on the Gangneung-Jinbu section on Dec. 8. In the accident, all 10 cars of the train were derailed, injuring 14 people including passengers.
