First Meeting of Line 5 Route Review Committee on the 20th
"Conclusion by Year-End"
September Plan for Direct Arbitration to Proceed with Additional Discussions
As Incheon City and Gimpo City experience conflicts over the extension of Seoul Subway Line 5 to Gimpo and Geomdan, the government has decided to form a 'Route Adjustment Committee' to finalize the adjustments by the end of the year.
On the 20th, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) announced that the Line 5 Route Review Committee, chaired by Kim Soo-sang, a standing member of the Metropolitan Transport Committee (Daegwangwi) under MOLIT, and including participants from Gyeonggi Province, Incheon City, Gimpo City, and Seo-gu Office of Incheon, held its first meeting that afternoon.
Originally, MOLIT planned to intervene and decide the route through 'ex officio mediation' within this month if local governments failed to reach an agreement. However, the plan was revised to allow additional consultations until the end of the year. This decision was based on the judgment that future project implementation would proceed more smoothly if an agreement among local governments is secured.
The committee will verify the project costs, user demand, operational stability, and social benefits of the routes submitted by Incheon and Gimpo. A short-term study by a professional institution will also be conducted.
A Daegwangwi official stated, "Route decisions must be based on agreements between local governments to enable discussions with financial authorities on measures to expedite the project, such as preliminary feasibility studies." If no agreement is reached by the end of the year, the project’s progress may be delayed.
The extension of Line 5, connecting Seoul Banghwa Station with Incheon Geomdan New Town and Gimpo Hangang New Town, began discussions in 2017 and was included in the 4th National Railroad Network Construction Plan in 2021. However, the route has not been finalized due to a stalemate between Incheon and Gimpo over the stations to be served.
Gimpo City has proposed a route passing through two stations in Incheon Seo-gu, while Incheon City has submitted a 'U-shaped' route passing through four stations. Gimpo City insists that the extension project must proceed as quickly as possible because citizens are suffering from the so-called 'hell train' on the Gimpo Goldline (Gimpo Urban Railway). Since Gimpo City has accepted the relocation of the Banghwa-dong Construction Waste Disposal Site (Geonpejang) to Gimpo for the Line 5 extension, it has also indicated that if its proposal is not accepted, it may renegotiate the relocation of the disposal site. On the other hand, Incheon City emphasizes that to benefit as many residents as possible, Line 5 must pass through the interior of Geomdan New Town.
On the 18th, MOLIT Minister Won Hee-ryong pressured the parties during a press briefing, saying, "If the older brother and younger sister keep fighting, neither will succeed," while also stating, "We intend to try for a few more months to draw out the best possible agreement." Both Incheon and Gimpo, concerned about local opposition if a specific route is adopted, expressed that it is better to prepare alternatives after an additional deliberation period, leading to the formation of the Route Adjustment Committee.
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