Song Young-gil "I Will Return the Han River to Citizens"… Pledges to Underground Gangbyeonbuk-ro and Olympic-daero, Install Han River Pedestrian Bridge

Song Young-gil, the Democratic Party of Korea's candidate for Seoul mayor, is appealing for support to office workers on their way to work near Ahyeon Station in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, on the 20th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Song Young-gil, the Democratic Party of Korea's candidate for Seoul mayor, promised on the 20th to underground the Gangbyeonbuk-ro and Olympic-daero roads and to build pedestrian-only bridges over the Han River.

At a press conference held at the National Assembly Communication Office that day, Candidate Song said, "The post-COVID era and the era of climate change that we are facing demand a city that is more flexible, more dynamic, and more resilient for a better life for citizens." He explained, "The ‘Baro Han River’ project, which involves undergrounding Gangbyeonbuk-ro and Olympic-daero and installing three pedestrian-only bridges over the Han River, is therefore a challenge for the citizens and a grand plan to fully return the Han River to the people."

He said, "Gangbyeonbuk-ro and Olympic-daero are currently unable to fulfill their original function as urban expressways. We will underground Gangbyeonbuk-ro and Olympic-daero into eight lanes in both directions to create expressways that run smoothly without congestion." He added, "The total 850,000 pyeong (approximately 2.8 million square meters) of land created by undergrounding?290,000 pyeong from Gangbyeonbuk-ro and 560,000 pyeong from Olympic-daero?will be utilized as public facilities such as four-lane intersections with traffic lights, eco-friendly pedestrian paths, citizen parks, cultural spaces, and sports facilities." Through this, he explained, "the accessibility of Seoul citizens to the Han River will be dramatically improved."

Candidate Song announced that to increase Seoul citizens' access to the Han River, "pedestrian-only bridges will be constructed over the Han River."

He aims to create tourist attractions that Seoul citizens can enjoy through locations such as Seonyudo, Dongjak Bridge, and Jamsu Bridge.

Candidate Song mentioned, "The cost of undergrounding Gangbyeonbuk-ro is estimated at 6.3 trillion won, and the cost of undergrounding Olympic-daero is estimated at 8.6 trillion won. Additionally, the installation of pedestrian bridges at Seonyudo and Dongjak, and the conversion of Jamsu Bridge into a pedestrian-only bridge, is estimated to cost about 250 billion won." He also expressed his intention to secure related funding by utilizing the world surplus fund, profits from citizen-participatory public development recovery, as well as national and city budgets.