Mayor Lee Sang-il of Yongin Special City stated on the 15th that regarding the Gyeonggi Southern Metropolitan Railway project, Governor Kim Dong-yeon had proposed several meetings with the mayors of the four cities of Yongin, Suwon, Hwaseong, and Seongnam, but they did not respond. He added, “This time, Governor Kim should apologize for breaking his promise regarding the Gyeonggi Southern Metropolitan Railway and explain in a convincing manner why he decided to prioritize the GTX Plus project.”
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[Korean Today] Yongin Special City Mayor Lee Sang-il speaks at a policy discussion meeting held at the Gyeonggi Provincial Office on November 11 last year. © Reporter Kim Na-yeon |
On the 15th, Yongin Special City Mayor Lee Sang-il emphasized regarding the Gyeonggi Southern Metropolitan Railway project, “Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon has consistently failed to communicate by ignoring meetings with the mayors of the four cities,” and “If Governor Kim meets with the mayors, he should explain why he abandoned the agreement last year and offer a sincere apology.”
The market said that since September 16th of last year, it had repeatedly proposed to Governor Kim a meeting with the mayors of the four cities that jointly promoted the Gyeonggi Southern Light Rail construction project, but had not received a response. Regarding the recent proposal to hold a meeting with the mayors from Suwon City, the market said, “I will pay attention to how Governor Kim responds this time.”
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[Korean Today] Yongin, Seongnam, Suwon, and Hwaseong to jointly cooperate for the extension of Subway Line 3 to southern Gyeonggi Province in December 2022. © Reporter Na-yeon Kim |
He criticized, “Governor Kim should provide a convincing explanation by presenting objective data on why the three GTX Plus projects he prioritized are better than the Gyeonggi Southern Metropolitan Railway,” adding, “When Gyeonggi Province submitted the three GTX Plus projects as priorities to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in June 2024 and postponed the Gyeonggi Southern Metropolitan Railway to a later priority, it made a unilateral decision without consulting the mayors of the four cities. This is a betrayal of the spirit of the agreement.”
The market criticized, “Last year, when the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport requested that three metropolitan railway projects be prioritized and submitted, Governor Kim and Gyeonggi Province quietly submitted three GTX Plus projects, let alone making them public.” He added, “It is not fair for them to now shift responsibility by saying, ‘The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is the problem,’ after I pointed out Governor Kim’s broken promise.”
The Gyeonggi Southern Metropolitan Railway project is a 50.7km line connecting Seoul Sports Complex Station to Seongnam Pangyo, Yongin Sinbong and Seongbok-dong, Suwon Gwanggyo, and Hwaseong Bongdam. As a result of the joint project conducted by four cities including Yongin, the benefit-cost ratio (B/C) was found to be 1.2, indicating very high economic feasibility.
On the other hand, the three GTX Plus projects (extension of GTX C line, establishment of GTX G·H) that Governor Kim submitted as priorities have a total project cost of 12.3 trillion won, and the expected beneficiary population is 490,000 people. In contrast, the Gyeonggi Southern Metropolitan Railway is estimated to benefit about 1.38 million people with a project cost of 5.2 trillion won, and is evaluated to be more advantageous than the GTX Plus project in terms of economic feasibility and validity.
Mayor Lee Sang-il said, “Gyeonggi Province should disclose the results of the GTX Plus project consulting service, which was carried out with taxpayers’ money, so that the residents can judge whether the GTX Plus project that Governor Kim is advocating is more economical than the Gyeonggi Southern Light Rail Transit,” and pointed out, “Gyeonggi Province has not disclosed the related data so far.”
The market has been continuously pointing out Governor Kim’s responsibility since November 10th of last year, and said, “If I had not raised the issue, Governor Kim and Gyeonggi Province would not have mentioned the Gyeonggi Southern Light Rail Transit at all and would have only focused on the GTX Plus project.”
He also emphasized, “We will disclose data so that citizens of the four cities and Gyeonggi Province can clearly compare what efforts Yongin Special City and Mayor Lee Sang-il have made for this project and what Governor Kim and Gyeonggi Province have done.”
Lastly, he said, “The Gyeonggi Southern Metropolitan Railway project is an important project that has proven its economic feasibility and the wishes of the citizens of the four cities,” and added, “I hope that Governor Kim will change his irresponsible attitude, follow the spirit of the agreement, and conduct an upright administration that lives up to the expectations of the residents of the province.”
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