A city bus struck a series of vehicles during the morning rush hour in Seongnam, south of Seoul, leaving 57 people injured, according to emergency officials. Nine were seriously hurt, and 48 sustained less serious injuries.
The collision happened at about 7.34am local time on Wednesday, 11 November, in Seongnam’s Bundang district. The bus hit vehicles near a traffic light before coming to rest against a barrier in the middle of the road.
None of the injuries was reported to be life-threatening in the initial assessments. The injured included the bus driver and passengers. The driver was among those seriously hurt, according to the information available to officials.
Emergency crews respond
More than 30 vehicles were involved, including buses, a lorry and passenger cars. The available accounts differ over whether the bus that struck the other vehicles is included in the total, so the precise vehicle count remains unclear.
The city bus was operating on route 340. The collisions occurred over a stretch of approximately 100 to 150 metres, with some vehicles waiting at a signal. Images from the scene showed extensive damage to the front of the bus and a shattered windscreen.
Fire authorities sent 88 personnel and 33 vehicles to the scene and set up an emergency medical station. According to police and fire authorities, crews arrived at about 7.38am and the medical station was established at about 7.44am, roughly ten minutes after the collision.
One passenger on another bus involved said they had become trapped between seats and were freed by rescuers. Injured people were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment.
Road traffic was temporarily blocked in both directions while emergency work and the removal of damaged vehicles took place. The closure added to congestion during the morning commute. Tow trucks were used to move damaged vehicles, and a nearby bus stop was cordoned off during the recovery work.
A streetlight was also left bent at the scene. Traffic restrictions were subsequently lifted after damaged vehicles had been moved.
Cause under investigation
The driver told police that the brakes had not worked. Police are investigating the circumstances; the reported brake problem has not been established as the cause of the collision.
A roadside breath test detected no alcohol, police said. Investigators also planned to examine recordings from vehicles and nearby cameras as they work to establish what happened.
The distinction matters because an account given immediately after a crash is not the same as a technical finding. Investigators will need to consider the available evidence before reaching a conclusion. The initial injury figures are also a snapshot of the assessment made after the collision, rather than a prediction of how people will recover.
For wider context, South Korea recorded 193,889 traffic crashes in 2025, down 1.3 per cent from the previous year, according to figures released by the national police and the Korea Road Traffic Authority. Traffic deaths rose by 1.1 per cent to 2,549 over the same period. These national figures cover crashes of all kinds and do not explain what happened in Bundang.
