Chairperson Lee Suk-ja: "Abolishment of Banpo Stream Drainage Plan for Gangnam Station Stormwater Drainage Tunnel"

Chairperson Lee Suk-ja of the Planning and Economy Committee Requests Mayor Oh Se-hoon to Immediately Abolish the Banpo Stream Drainage Plan for the Gangnam Station Stormwater Drainage Tunnel

Through a 5-Minute Free Speech, Criticizes Seoul City's Lax Flood Response Measures and Urges a Complete Reconsideration of the Stormwater Drainage Tunnel Route

Lee Suk-ja, Chairperson of the Planning and Economy Committee of the Seoul Metropolitan Council (Seocho 2, People Power Party), pointed out the problems of the ongoing 'Feasibility Study and Basic Plan Service for Gangnam Station Stormwater Drainage Facilities' during a 5-minute free speech at the 2nd plenary session of the 318th extraordinary meeting on the 3rd.

Seoul City plans to install a deep stormwater drainage tunnel by constructing a large tunnel 40 to 50 meters underground in the Gangnam Station area, which suffered significant damage from the concentrated heavy rains in the metropolitan area last August. This tunnel will store stormwater during heavy rains and discharge it into the river.

However, while promoting the feasibility study and basic plan for the installation of the stormwater drainage tunnel, Seoul City is currently prioritizing the Banpo Stream drainage plan as the first option, contrary to the Han River drainage plan announced last September, which would directly discharge water from Gangnam Station through Sinsa Station into the Han River.

In response, Chairperson Lee Suk-ja (photo) criticized, “Banpo Stream has a lower water level than the Han River, and the surrounding areas of Banpo and Bangbae-dong are lowlands vulnerable to flooding. The plan to divert Gangnam’s stormwater to Banpo Stream instead of directly sending it to the Han River is an absurd idea.”

She also pointed out, “Due to abnormal weather caused by global warming, heavy rains are increasing in frequency from a 10-year return period to 30, 80, and even 100 years. The claim by Seoul City’s Water Circulation Safety Bureau that there are no problems with the current engineering standards and safety criteria is complacent and irresponsible.”

She continued, “The economic efficiency and effectiveness cited by the Water Circulation Safety Bureau as advantages of the Banpo Stream drainage plan lack validity. Just like the measures taken after the 2011 Gangnam Station flood, Seoul City repeatedly adopts a reactive disaster response approach, fixing problems only after damage occurs, causing Seoul citizens to lose lives and property repeatedly.”

Finally, Chairperson Lee Suk-ja conveyed the concerns and anxieties of Seocho-gu residents regarding the Gangnam Station stormwater drainage tunnel route to Mayor Oh Se-hoon and urged the immediate abolition of the Banpo Stream drainage plan.