Gwangyang and Yeosu City Councils Urge Promotion of Yi Sun-sin Bridge to National Highway Status

Systematic Management of Entry and Exit Roads at Yeosu-Gwangyang National Industrial Complex

Demands to Alleviate Local Government Financial Burden, etc.

On the 7th, the Gwangyang City Council in Jeollanam-do announced that it had issued a joint statement with the Yeosu City Council at the Yi Sun-sin Bridge Promotion Center, urging the "upgrade of Yi Sun-sin Bridge to a national highway."

The joint statement announcement was conducted in the order of the Yeosu City Council's Chair of the Council Operations Committee presiding, greetings from Chairman Seo Young-bae and Chairman Kim Young-gyu, the joint statement presentation by members of both city councils, and a commemorative photo session.

[Photo by Gwangyang City Council]

In the joint statement, the Gwangyang City Council and Yeosu City Council stated, "With the construction of the access roads to the national industrial complexes including the Yi Sun-sin Bridge, the freight transport time between Yeosu Industrial Complex and Gwangyang Industrial Complex has been reduced from 60 minutes to within 10 minutes, significantly enhancing the competitiveness of key national industries such as petrochemicals and steel through reduced logistics costs."

However, they lamented, "Since most taxes from the national industrial complexes are collected as national taxes and belong to the state, the actual beneficiaries of the access roads to the national industrial complexes are the state. Nevertheless, the financially strained local governments bear the burden of maintaining roads frequently damaged by large freight vehicles."

They also argued, "Passing on the maintenance costs of access roads to the local governments that have endured unavoidable environmental and safety issues arising from the operation of national industrial complexes is an act that excessively burdens local governments financially and significantly violates the basic principles of task allocation under Article 11 of the Local Autonomy Act."

Furthermore, they mentioned, "According to the Act on Industrial Sites and Development, the supply of infrastructure for industrial development is the government's role. Therefore, not only the construction but also the maintenance of access roads to national industrial complexes should rightfully be the responsibility of the state."

The council members expressed concern, stating, "Currently, the maintenance costs of the Yi Sun-sin Bridge are shared as 33.3% by Jeollanam-do, 42.7% by Yeosu City, and 24% by Gwangyang City. Since the bridge's opening, approximately 44.3 billion KRW has been spent on maintenance, and from this year, about 8 billion KRW annually is expected to be required. It is difficult for local governments to continue to bear this financially."

Meanwhile, the Gwangyang and Yeosu city council members declared, "The government should no longer delay the long-standing request since 2013 to upgrade the Yi Sun-sin Bridge to a national highway," and strongly urged ▲ the government to immediately extend the starting point of National Route 59 from Taein, Gwangyang to Wollae, Yeosu, including the Yi Sun-sin Bridge ▲ and the government to promptly fulfill the responsibility for maintenance and management of the Yi Sun-sin Bridge and access roads to the national industrial complexes.

Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik hss79@asiae.co.kr