Agreement on Expanding Transportation Infrastructure Reflecting Future Demand Such as Reconstruction and Redevelopment
Yangcheon District Mayor Discusses Preliminary Feasibility Study Approval Strategy with Seoul City First Deputy Mayor and Others
On the afternoon of the 3rd, Lee Gi-jae, Mayor of Yangcheon-gu, visited Seoul City Hall to strongly urge the necessity of the Mokdong Line. Provided by Yangcheon-gu.
On the afternoon of the 3rd, Lee Gi-jae, the mayor of Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, who is awaiting the announcement of the preliminary feasibility study results for the Mokdong Line, visited Seoul City Hall and held a meeting with the First Deputy Mayor of Seoul and the Director of Transportation Planning. During the meeting, they pointed out the problems of the current preliminary feasibility study system and agreed on the necessity of promoting the Mokdong Line, reaching a consensus on joint cooperation between Seoul City and Yangcheon-gu, the mayor announced on the 4th.
The district explained, “We confirmed Seoul City's commitment to balanced development in the subway desert area of Sinwol-dong,” and “Both institutions formed a sufficient consensus on the need to expand the transportation network, which should precede the population increase due to large-scale reconstruction projects such as the 14 apartment complexes in Mokdong.”
Mayor Lee Gi-jae proposed the following improvements to the preliminary feasibility study system: first, the urgent need to establish a railway transportation network that acts as a lifeline connecting the outskirts of Seoul; second, that public transportation should be approached from the perspective of transportation welfare rather than economic feasibility; and third, that the scope of the preliminary feasibility study criteria, which currently only reflects project approval stages, should be expanded to include future demand such as population growth.
In the case of Yangcheon-gu, all 14 Mokdong apartment complexes have passed safety inspections, and through rapid integrated planning, a redevelopment plan is being established. The district has officially embarked on the development of a super-large mini new town, expanding from about 26,000 households to approximately 53,000 households. Additionally, to timely respond to the rapidly increasing population and transportation demand due to reconstruction and redevelopment in Sinwol-dong and the state-of-the-art complex at the Western Truck Terminal, proactive expansion of transportation infrastructure is deemed essential.
The district has continuously made efforts, including multiple meetings with Seoul city officials such as the Mayor and the Director of Urban Transportation, and urging the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Korea Development Institute (KDI) for the swift approval of the preliminary feasibility study for light rail projects like the Mokdong Line.
However, despite being included in the “2008 First Seoul 10-Year Urban Railway Basic Plan” as a necessary project for regional balanced development and currently under promotion, the Mokdong Line, which passes through areas such as Sinwol-dong, Sinjeong-dong, and Mokdong, has been stalled for 16 years due to a lack of economic feasibility at this point in time. There are particular concerns that if the Mokdong Line project is again canceled for economic reasons, the worst traffic congestion will occur.
Mayor Lee Gi-jae stated, “If urban railway construction projects like the Mokdong Line are delayed solely because it is in Seoul, the development project has not yet started, and excessive economic feasibility logic is emphasized, the residents will bear the full brunt of the resulting damage,” and urged, “Welfare is a basic premise for enjoying a happy life, so we must no longer hesitate and promptly proceed with the promotion of the light rail Mokdong Line.”
The mayor added, “Since Seoul City has expressed its intention to improve the preliminary feasibility study system from the perspective of eliminating transportation blind spots and regional balanced development, our district also plans to actively cooperate accordingly,” and expressed determination, saying, “Although there are concerns that the high barriers of the current preliminary feasibility study system may cause the project to fail, we will not give up and will do our best until the very end to pass the preliminary feasibility study for the Mokdong Line.”
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