Seoul City Joins Hands with Gangseo-gu and Gimpo City for 'Line 5 Gimpo Extension'

Oh Se-hoon, Line 5 Gimpo Extension (Banghwa Station~Gimpo) Business Agreement
Seoul City-Gangseo-gu-Gimpo City Reach Consensus to Alleviate Transportation Inconvenience in Northwest Seoul Metropolitan Area

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seoul City has decided to actively support the extension of Seoul Subway Line 5 to Gimpo (Banghwa Station~Gimpo), which has been stalled due to differences of opinion among related organizations, despite being a major task for improving transportation in the northwestern metropolitan area.

On the 11th, Seoul City announced that it will sign a "Business Agreement for the Extension of Seoul Subway Line 5 to Gimpo (Banghwa Station~Gimpo)" together with Gangseo-gu and Gimpo City, Gyeonggi Province, at Seoul City Hall. The signing ceremony will be attended by Oh Se-hoon, Mayor of Seoul, Kim Tae-woo, Mayor of Gangseo-gu, and Kim Byung-soo, Mayor of Gimpo.

This business agreement was made under a firm consensus that "transportation convenience in the metropolitan area, which shares a common living area, is an unavoidable future task to ensure a better daily life for metropolitan citizens," and that a foundation for metropolitan development beyond regional boundaries must be established. Discussions among related organizations for the extension of Seoul Subway Line 5 toward Gimpo began in 2017. Through numerous working-level meetings and several rounds of opinion exchanges, sufficient communication was conducted to finally reconcile differences among the organizations, leading to the signing of this agreement.

The main contents of the business agreement include: ? Promotion of the extension of Seoul Subway Line 5 to Gimpo for the establishment of a wide-area transportation network in the northwestern metropolitan area ? Efforts to have the Seoul Subway Line 5 extension project to Gimpo, which was reflected as an additional review project in the 4th National Railroad Network Construction Plan, revised as a new project so that the project can commence ? Promotion of the relocation of Banghwa Vehicle Depot and construction waste disposal companies.

In particular, the agreement holds greater significance in that the relocation of the Banghwa Vehicle Depot and construction waste disposal companies, which are accompanying tasks of the Seoul Subway Line 5 extension to Gimpo, were transformed from conflict issues into win-win issues, leading to a grand consensus.

This agreement marks the first step toward the extension of Seoul Subway Line 5 to Gimpo, and Seoul City plans to conduct detailed discussions with related organizations regarding the relocation of the Banghwa Vehicle Depot and construction waste disposal companies.