Environmental Impact Assessment Public Meeting Held for Dongbu Expressway Underground Project

[Seoul District News] On the 5th, Gunja-dong Community Center held an environmental impact assessment briefing and opinion gathering... Yeongdeungpo-gu changes left turn at Yeongdeungpo Telephone Office Intersection toward Yeouido from bus-only to all vehicles, reducing detour distance and easing traffic congestion, improving residents' traffic convenience... ‘Gangnam-gu Small Business Live Commerce’ with 70 companies participating and 930,000 viewers this year... Seocho-gu holds ‘8th Term Resident Policy Evaluation Group Appointment and Pledge Report Meeting’

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Gwangjin-gu (Mayor Kim Kyung-ho) held a resident briefing session on the environmental impact assessment of the ‘Dongbu Expressway Underground Private Investment Project’ at the Gunja-dong Community Center on the 5th.

Hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Urban Infrastructure Headquarters, this briefing session was organized to explain the project details, including the environmental impact assessment, to residents and to gather their opinions in order to minimize environmental impacts caused by the underground construction project.

The briefing session proceeded in the order of ▲Explanation of the environmental impact assessment ▲Direction of underground construction promotion ▲Q&A, with about 60 attendees including Gwangjin-gu Mayor Kim Kyung-ho, Gwangjin-gu National Assembly members, city and district council members, and residents.

Seoul City is currently promoting the underground construction project of Dongbu Expressway together with five other districts including Gwangjin-gu to resolve severe traffic congestion and the disconnection of access between residential areas and the Jungnangcheon Stream. The environmental impact assessment explained that Gwangjin-gu would not be significantly affected.

By 2028, a 10.1 km-long, two-way, four-lane tunnel for small vehicles will be constructed underground from Cheongdam-dong in Gangnam-gu (Samsung IC) to Seokgwan-dong in Seongbuk-gu (Wolreung IC). This will drastically reduce travel time between Gangnam and Gangbuk areas of Seoul and decrease traffic volume on surrounding roads, greatly improving residents’ convenience.

On the existing Dongbu Expressway, an eco-friendly riverside park along Jungnangcheon Stream, ten times the size of Yeouido Park, will be created. Improved access to Jungnangcheon will provide a safe and pleasant resting space. The natural river restoration is also expected to play a significant role in flood risk prevention and enhancing flood control performance.

During the subsequent Q&A session, active questions and answers were exchanged. Residents inquired about ▲Differences between financial and private tunnels ▲Benefits for Gwangjin-gu ▲Location of ICs ▲Tunnel maintenance and repair, among other topics.

Gwangjin-gu Mayor Kim Kyung-ho said, “This project will not only promote balanced regional development in Gwangjin-gu but also serve as an important opportunity to improve residents’ quality of life by resolving long-standing issues. We will continue to promote various projects so that Gwangjin-gu can become the central area of the northeastern road traffic network.”

The public inspection of the environmental impact assessment for the Dongbu Expressway Underground Private Investment Project is available until January 5th. Residents can submit their opinions by filling out the resident opinion forms available at the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Urban Infrastructure Headquarters and Gwangjin-gu Environmental Division by January 12th.

Long-standing traffic inconveniences caused by traffic restrictions on Gukhoe-daero in Yeongdeungpo-gu are expected to be resolved.

Yeongdeungpo-gu (Mayor Choi Ho-kwon) announced that from December 2nd, left turns for vehicles heading to Yeouido will be allowed at the Gukhoe-daero Yeongdeungpo Telephone Office Intersection.

The Gukhoe-daero Yeongdeungpo Telephone Office Intersection has been subject to traffic restrictions for straight-going vehicles since 2001 as part of Seoul City’s arterial axis improvement project. As a result, only buses were allowed to turn left, forcing general vehicles to take long detours when heading toward Yeouido.

To resolve this issue, the district office submitted complaints to related organizations such as Seoul City and the police station and continuously held consultations. As a result, the traffic restriction toward Yeouido was lifted, resolving a long-standing issue that caused inconvenience to residents.

Additionally, from next year, right turns toward Dangsan Station from Yeongdong Elementary School Intersection will be fully permitted.

This section had prohibited right turns since 2017 to prevent traffic accidents, causing inconvenience for residents of Dangsan-dong, including about 800 households in Gangbyeon Samsung Raemian Apartments, who had to endure the restriction for years.

There were also complaints that many vehicles illegally made right turns, reducing the effectiveness of the ban.

In response, the district office held multiple consultations with the police and successfully obtained approval to allow right turns in November. Seoul City is currently designing the changes, and the Gangseo Road Office will supplement additional facilities such as moving stop lines and implement safety measures. The changes are expected to take effect in the first half of next year.

The district expects that the lifting of traffic restrictions on Gukhoe-daero will significantly reduce vehicle detour distances, ease congestion in the straight lanes at the intersection, and greatly improve traffic convenience for nearby residents in Dangsan-dong 5-ga, Dangsan-dong 6-ga, and Yeongdeungpo-dong 8-ga.

Yeongdeungpo-gu Mayor Choi Ho-kwon said, “By improving two major traffic inconvenience points in our district through this measure, we hope residents’ satisfaction with daily life will greatly increase. We will continue to do our best to create better traffic conditions.”

Gangnam-gu (Mayor Jo Sung-myeong) operated the ‘Gangnam-gu Small Business Live Commerce Season 2 Project’ (hereinafter Gangso-ra Project), actively supporting online promotion for small businesses with 70 companies participating this year and a cumulative viewership of 930,000.

The Gangso-ra Project is a live commerce initiative launched in 2021 in cooperation with Naver to help local small businesses secure online sales channels amid the spread of non-face-to-face consumption culture due to COVID-19. It is primarily operated to promote local small businesses online, with up to 480 items sold per broadcast.

Starting with the first broadcast on Naver Shopping Live in May, a total of 70 companies participated this year, achieving sales of 65 million KRW. From November 30 to December 2, a farewell 2022 special broadcast featuring singer Ryu Ji-kwang, comedian Kim Mi-ryeo, and broadcaster Jung Ga-eun was successfully completed, with the final Season 2 broadcast scheduled for the 6th.

The Gangso-ra Project averaged about 4,000 viewers per broadcast, with a peak of 60,000 viewers in one session, reaching a cumulative total of 930,000 viewers this year. It provided online sales and promotional opportunities to small businesses that faced difficulties due to COVID-19. In fact, some companies saw their sales more than double after their broadcasts.

After the broadcasts, the district provided one-on-one customized consulting to small businesses, offering education on marketing and live commerce operation methods to build their capacity to run live broadcasts independently. Additionally, in October, the district held the ‘Gangso-ra Open Market’ at COEX, supporting on-site sales with participation from 25 local companies.

Gangnam-gu Mayor Jo Sung-myeong said, “The district has been providing various supports such as live commerce broadcasts and loan interest subsidies for local small businesses and SMEs. We will continue to diversify sales channels and increase sales through multifaceted support.”

Seocho-gu (Mayor Jeon Seong-su) appointed the ‘8th Term Resident Policy Evaluation Group’ and held a pledge report meeting on the 2nd at the 5th-floor conference room of Seocho-gu Office.

The Resident Policy Evaluation Group plays a role in evaluating the implementation plans of the mayor’s campaign pledges made to residents and proposing improvement measures.

Seocho-gu selected 22 members of the Resident Policy Evaluation Group through an open recruitment process in October, composed of experts and residents by field to enhance expertise and transparency.

It also reflects Mayor Jeon Seong-su’s commitment in the 8th term to create ‘Seocho where you are happy today and look forward to tomorrow’ through active communication with residents.

Seocho-gu plans to implement an open administration where residents directly participate in district governance by involving them from the project planning stage and engaging in deliberative processes together.

In the 8th term, Seocho-gu plans to promote a total of 74 projects across 8 fields as campaign pledges.

The evaluation group is subdivided into five committees to enhance expertise. They will select key projects that residents can easily experience in daily life as core projects by committee and prioritize the implementation of five major core pledges to carry out empathetic administration.

The five major core pledges are ▲Continuous maintenance of alley environments in front of homes under the Safety and Environment Committee ▲Construction and environmental improvement of public parking lots (Yangjae Public, Guryong Public, Bangbae Covered) under the Urban and Transportation Infrastructure Committee ▲Expansion of senior community spaces, development of participation programs, and digital gap education under the Welfare and Economy Committee ▲Relocation of Cheongdam High School to Jamwon area under the Education and Childcare Committee ▲Seasonal and themed festivals linked with private performances and professional facilities under the Culture and Sports Committee.

Going forward, Seocho-gu will enhance administrative transparency and the execution power of campaign pledges through evaluations and diverse opinion gathering during the 8th term.

Seocho-gu Mayor Jeon Seong-su emphasized the three principles of empathetic administration, performance administration, and sharing administration, stating, “We will fully reflect the valuable opinions of the Resident Policy Evaluation Group and strive to create policies that are truly needed by residents.”