Taeyoungho "GTX passes Gangnam but Gangnam-gu cannot join the council"

Taeyoungho, Member of the National Assembly of the People Power Party (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kum Bo-ryeong] Although the GTX-A line passes through residential areas in Gangnam, Seoul, it has been revealed that the Gangnam District Office was not included in the Environmental Impact Assessment Council.

According to data obtained on the 9th by Tae Young-ho, a member of the National Assembly from the People Power Party, from the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Environmental Impact Assessment Council for the GTX-A project conducted in 2018 consisted of employees from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s Railway Bureau Private Railway Team, the Ministry of Environment’s Environmental Impact Assessment Division, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s Railway Bureau Private Railway Team.

The Environmental Impact Assessment Council plays a role in deliberating matters related to the determination of evaluation items and scope, coordination of environmental impact assessment consultation content, decisions on whether to conduct environmental impact assessments through simplified procedures, and coordination of opinions collected and consultation content.

Officials from related agencies included municipal government employees from Seoul’s Environmental Policy Division, Eunpyeong District Office’s Clean City Division, Seodaemun District Office’s Environment Division, Jung District Office’s Environment Division, and Yongsan District Office’s Clean Environment Division. In Gyeonggi Province, officials from Gyeonggi Province’s Environmental Policy Division, Goyang City’s Environmental Protection Division, and Paju City’s Environmental Policy Division participated. Additionally, one resident representative from Seoul and two resident representatives from Gyeonggi Province were included.

The problem is that although GTX-A passes through the residential area of Cheongdam-dong in Gangnam, not a single official from the Gangnam District Office participated as a council member. There was not a single opinion from Gangnam District in the 'Environmental Impact Assessment Council Review Opinions and Action Results.' In the main body of the GTX-A Environmental Impact Assessment Report, under 'Major Resident Opinions and Responses,' Gangnam and Songpa Districts are marked as 'No Opinion.' In contrast, an official from Goyang City’s Environmental Protection Division raised the opinion to 'actively reflect residents’ opinions collected through resident briefings in the plan,' to which the project operator responded with an action plan stating, 'We will actively reflect residents’ opinions collected through resident briefings in the plan.'

Assemblyman Tae stated, "The absence of the Gangnam District Office in the Environmental Impact Assessment Council is closely related to the fact that while about 200 people attended the resident briefing held in Goyang City in August-September 2018, only three people attended the resident briefing held in Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam District." He explained, "Residents of Gangnam strongly oppose the GTX-A route passing through residential areas, feeling extreme risks to life and safety such as sinkholes, Han River water inflow, and ground collapse."

He added, "Gangnam residents strongly suspect that even the three attendees at the resident briefing were not Gangnam residents but officials from related agencies," and emphasized, "We will thoroughly investigate the reasons why the Gangnam District Office was omitted from the Environmental Impact Assessment Council and consider multifaceted countermeasures, including strict disciplinary action against those responsible."