Kim Mikyung, Eunpyeong District Mayor, Urges Improvement of Preliminary Feasibility Study System Reflecting Urban Future Value

District Mayor Kim Proposes Improved Preliminary Feasibility Study System Reflecting Future Demand at City Forum... Deep Regret Over Preliminary Feasibility Study Failure for Shinbundang Line Northwest Extension Project Signed by 300,000 Residents... "Urgent Expansion of Metropolitan Transportation Network Needed for Korean Literature Museum, Art Village, and Innovation Park Development"

Kim Mikyung, the mayor of Eunpyeong District, urged improvements to the preliminary feasibility study (PFS) system that reflect the future value of the city at the “Great Debate for the Improvement of Seoul’s Preliminary Feasibility Study System” held on the 7th.

On the same day, Seoul held a major debate at the Korea Press Center under the theme “Seoul’s Railway Network, Why Is It Difficult to Pass the PFS?” to discuss improvements to the preliminary feasibility study system.

The debate was attended by city officials, mayors of 11 autonomous districts in Seoul including Kim Mikyung, and about 200 citizens, who discussed the problems of the current PFS system and directions for improvement.

In her opening remarks, Mayor Kim said, “The failure of Seoul’s ‘Shinbundang Line Northwest Extension Project’ to pass the preliminary feasibility study last August was a great pain for Eunpyeong District,” adding, “It was a long-cherished project filled with the aspirations of 300,000 Eunpyeong residents who participated in the petition, so the disappointment was even greater.”

Mayor Kim proposed as a direction for improving the current PFS system, “For balanced development between Gangnam and Gangbuk, it is necessary to improve the PFS system to look ahead at the city’s future value rather than immediate economic logic and to reflect this in the evaluation.”

She also said, “With the overall growth of the city ahead, including national projects such as the National Korean Literature Museum, the creation of an arts village, and the development of Seoul Innovation Park, the expansion of a metropolitan transportation network to support these is more urgent than ever.”

To eliminate transportation blind spots, Eunpyeong District is promoting projects such as the GTX-A line opening next year, the Western Line connecting Sinchon, Yeouido, and Seoul National University Station, Eunpyeong Saegil to ease congestion on Tongil-ro, the Gangbuk Transversal Line connecting Digital Media City to Mokdong and Cheongnyangni, and a Tongil-ro bypass road connecting to Goyang City.

Kim Byung-moo, a panelist at the debate and a member of the Citizens’ Promotion Committee for the Shinbundang Line Northwest Extension, said, “The extension project has been proposed as a pledge by many politicians over the past 10 years, but it failed to pass the PFS hurdle, causing disappointment and frustration to 470,000 Eunpyeong residents,” emphasizing, “Since 2019, no railway project in Seoul has passed the PFS. The current PFS system, which blocks the development of the Gangbuk area, must be improved.”

Eunpyeong District plans to actively cooperate with the city to prepare measures for improving the PFS system based on the opinions presented at this great debate and will focus on seeking new alternatives to improve transportation convenience in the northwest area.