"Enact the Special Act for the 198km Daegu-Gwangju Moonlight Railroad"... Daegu Chamber of Commerce Statement

The Daegu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Chairman Lee Jae-ha) urged the enactment of the 'Dalbit Railroad Special Act' on the 15th.

In a statement released that day, the Daegu Chamber pointed out, "The economies of Yeongho and Nam regions, including Daegu, have repeatedly lost opportunities for growth and development due to unfavorable conditions caused by the metropolitan area’s unipolar system."

Daegu Chamber of Commerce and Industry

The Daegu Chamber added, "The construction of the Dalbit Railroad, a 30-year-long aspiration of 17 million Yeongho and Nam residents, will break down the east-west barrier that has been an obstacle to the development of not only Yeongho and Nam but also the national economy. It will serve as a pivotal foundation for the southern Yeongho and Nam economic zone, which is losing competitiveness and self-sustainability under the metropolitan unipolar system, to find new opportunities and achieve mutual growth."

The Daegu Chamber also criticized, "The argument by some quarters to pass the 'Dalbit Railroad Special Act' without the preliminary feasibility study (PFS) exemption clause, citing insufficient immediate demand and economic feasibility, clearly reveals that they still cannot overcome fragmented economic logic and metropolitan centrism."

The 'Dalbit Railroad Special Act' is expected to greatly contribute to promoting human and material exchanges between the east and west and realizing the grand cause of balanced national development. Last August, a record number of 261 lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties co-sponsored the bill in support.

However, due to the government's lukewarm attitude and the passive stance of some lawmakers who even signed the bill, it has not even been submitted to the National Assembly’s Judiciary Committee.

The Daegu Chamber stated, "To build the Dalbit Railroad that will open the lifeline through the east-west barrier, fostering Yeongho and Nam mutual prosperity and harmony?values difficult to quantify monetarily?and creating new economic opportunities, the special act must be enacted promptly." It strongly urged, "The 200,000 businesspeople in Daegu call on the National Assembly to exercise its legitimate legislative authority and pass the 'Dalbit Railroad Special Act,' a bipartisan cooperative bill jointly proposed by 261 lawmakers, including the PFS exemption clause, during this extraordinary session."

The Dalbit Railroad is a 198.8 km railway connecting Seodaegu Station in Daegu and Songjeong Station in Gwangju. Although the government expressed its intention to proceed in January 2021, the project has been delayed due to reasons such as low PFS scores. Although the 'Dalbit Railroad Special Act' was proposed in the National Assembly last August, it has not even been submitted to the Judiciary Committee and has passed into the new year.