'So-hwak-haeng' Series 53rd Pledge
"SRT and KTX Operated Separately Without Rational Reason"
"KTX Fares to Be 10% Lower, Same as SRT"
"Transfer Discounts Applied to Saemaeul, Mugunghwa, and Other Regular Trains"
Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, arrived at the "Maetabus, Into the Hearts of Icheon Citizens" event held on the 24th at Icheon Jungang-ro Cultural Street in Icheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, and waved to the citizens of Icheon. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@
[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, announced on the 26th, "We will integrate the Suseo High-Speed Railway (SRT) and KTX to eliminate regional discrimination and enhance public benefits such as fare discounts."
On the same day, Lee announced the 53rd pledge in the 'So-hwak-haeng (small but certain happiness)' series through social networking services (SNS).
Referring to the Lunar New Year holiday, Lee raised the issue, saying, "People living in the southeastern metropolitan area and those residing in Changwon, Pohang, Jinju, Miryang, Jeonju, Namwon, Suncheon, and Yeosu often wonder around this time whether the SRT running to and from Suseo Station will come to their neighborhoods."
He explained, "The reason is that the Suseo High-Speed Railway (SRT), which opened in 2016 during the Park Geun-hye administration, and KTX have been operated separately without any rational reason, creating competition between them."
He continued, "SRT operates mainly on profitable local routes, causing residents in other regions to face discrimination with reduced access to Gangnam and no transfer discounts with regular trains. Meanwhile, KTX operates trains even in less profitable small local cities, bearing the burden of maintaining public service."
He also added, "SRT lacks independent operational capability, leasing more than half of its entire fleet from Korail and outsourcing most core tasks such as vehicle maintenance, upkeep, control, and information system construction."
Lee pledged to integrate SRT and KTX to eliminate regional discrimination and enhance public benefits such as fare discounts. He stated, "First, we will enable high-speed trains departing from Suseo to reach not only Busan and Gwangju but also Changwon, Pohang, Jinju, Miryang, Jeonju, Namwon, Suncheon, and Yeosu without transfers," and "We will lower KTX fares by 10% to match those of SRT."
He also said, "We will apply transfer discounts between SRT and regular trains such as Saemaeul and Mugunghwa," and explained, "By integrating the operations of the two companies, we will reduce unnecessary waiting times and the number of stops, thereby increasing the frequency of high-speed train services."
He added, "With the profits from the integration of the two companies, we will subsidize deficits in regular rail services and guarantee the public's basic transportation rights through vehicle improvements. We will also actively enhance the competitiveness of the railway industry. By realizing economies of scale, we will advance overseas expansion and open the Eurasia-continental railway era."
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