“Resolving" Issues of Damage from a "Flooding Road" without Management Authority through Cooperation among Relevant Agencies

- Expand drain pipes in preparation for heavy rain and strengthen inspections to prevent disaster and safety accidents

(9, April. 2024, ACRC)

There was an issue of damage from flooding rain water and a road being washed out due to clogged drain pipes. However, the road was abandoned due to the absenceof management authority. This issue has been resolved through the mediation conducted by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC, Chairperson Ryu Chul Whan).

In consultation with the Korea Expressway Corporation and Uiwang City in Gyeonggi Province, ACRC reached a consensus to expand drain pipes, install a water storage tank, level the road, and strengthen the preliminary inspections to prevent disaster and safety accidents.

Around 2001, residents of Hak-eui village, Uiwang City, Gyeonggi Province built the road, a subject for complaint, near the Seoul Outer Ring Expressway to facilitate their mobility.

However, drain pipes laid under the road were clogged with sediment and wastes from the Seoul Outer Ring Expressway, and the road has been flooded and washed out since 2019 due to frequent heavy rain.

With this regard, residents requested the Korea Expressway Corporation and UiwangCity in Gyeonggi Province to expand the drain pipes and pave the road, citing their inconveniences in passing through and high risks of safety accidents. However, these agencies did not address the issue on the grounds that they do not have a management obligation for the road being discussed. Consequently, residents turned to ACRC for help in December 2023.

Through a series of on-site investigations, ACRC established mediated measures to dig up the existing drain pipes, which have been the root cause of road flooding and washout, and expand the standard of drain pipes by coordinating opinions from residents and relevant agencies.

According to the mediation, the Korea Expressway Corporation decided to repair the existing drainage channel, ▴install a water storage tank, and ▴expand the drain pipes. Meanwhile, Uiwang City in Gyeonggi Province decided to ▴dredge the existing drain pipes to facilitate construction, ▴level the washed-out road, and ▴strengthen inspections to prevent disasters and safety accidents.

This mediation ensured smooth drainage of rainwater from the road and slope of the Seoul Outer Ring Expressway, which used to be the main reason for the road flooding and washouts, and enabled residents to safely use the road.

“The five years of inconveniences suffered by residents due to risks of flooding roads and safety accidents resulting from the absence of management authority, will be resolved through the mediation by ACRC and close cooperation from relevant agencies," said ACRC standing commissioner Choi Myeong Gyu. He urged the relevant agencies to ly implement the agreed-upon mediated measures.