Gangdong-gu: "Guri-si's claim is inaccurate. The name should be Godeok Bridge"

Godeok Bridge VS Guri Bridge, Dispute Over Han River Bridge Names
"532 Billion KRW Bridge Contribution Included in Godeok Gangil District Sale Price"
"No Basis for Naming According to Administrative District Occupied Area"

Residents of Gangdong-gu held a rally on the 18th in front of the National Geographic Information Institute to defend the name of Godeok Bridge. Provided by Gangdong-gu.

The two local governments are engaged in a fierce dispute over the name of the 33rd Han River bridge connecting Gangdong-gu in Seoul and Guri-si in Gyeonggi-do. The tentatively named Godeok Bridge is a Han River crossing bridge on the Sejong-Pocheon Expressway section, scheduled to open by the end of this year.

The National Place Names Committee under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport held a meeting on the 18th to decide the name of this bridge, but failed to reach a consensus and postponed the final decision to the next meeting.

Meanwhile, Guri-si and Gangdong-gu have been rebutting each other's claims. On the 25th, Guri-si stated regarding the naming dispute that "the project cost contribution that Gangdong-gu claims to have paid is not for the expressway project, and 87% of the bridge falls within Guri-si's administrative district," arguing that "the name should be designated as Guri Bridge."

However, on the 26th, Gangdong-gu directly refuted Guri-si's claim that "the metropolitan traffic improvement contribution is not part of the Sejong-Pocheon Expressway project." Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation (SH Corporation) confirmed through public documents such as the Godeok-Gangil Public Housing District sales price disclosure that the contribution fee (53.2 billion KRW) was included in the sales price. The 53.2 billion KRW contribution was used as part of the metropolitan traffic improvement measures for the Godeok-Gangil Public Housing District, specifically for the integrated installation cost of Gangdong-Godeok IC in Section 14 of the Sejong-Pocheon Expressway construction project, and it is clear that this was funded by Gangdong-gu residents.

Gangdong-gu also rebutted Guri-si's claim that the name should be designated based on the bridge's occupied area, stating that the claim that "87% of the bridge falls within Guri-si's administrative district, so it should be named Guri Bridge" is unfounded. Gangdong-gu pointed out that according to the Place Names Work Manual of the National Geographic Information Institute under the National Place Names Committee, there is no regulation for naming based on administrative area occupancy. They also cited that among the 31 Han River bridges, 12 use the names of local governments occupying less than 50% of the administrative area.

Regarding Guri-si's claim that "the starting and ending points of the Guri-Pocheon Expressway and Seoul-Sejong Expressway are in Topyeong-dong, Guri-si," Gangdong-gu emphasized again that "since the Guri-Pocheon Expressway and Seoul-Sejong Expressway are collectively named the Sejong-Pocheon Expressway, the claim that the starting and ending points of the expressway are in Guri is incorrect, and the starting point of the bridge is in Godeok-dong, Gangdong-gu."

Furthermore, Gangdong-gu stated, "Guri-si claims that the names of Han River bridges connecting two local governments have conventionally used the names of both local governments sequentially, but the names of Han River bridges were designated considering the historical and regional context at the time, and the naming of Guri-Amsa Bridge and Misa Bridge also went through a mediation process to resolve conflicts between local governments." This refutes Guri-si's claim that the names have been used sequentially by convention.

Gangdong-gu explained that in the case of Guri-Amsa Bridge, it was referred to as Amsa Bridge until the groundbreaking ceremony in 2007, but Guri-si strongly demanded inclusion of the name "Guri," delaying the approval of the "urban planning facility project (road, plaza)" in the Guri-si section, causing significant obstacles to the project. Consequently, in August 2008, the Seoul City Place Names Committee decided on the name Guri-Amsa Bridge as proposed by Guri-si. Regarding Misa Bridge, Namyangju-si initially insisted on the name Deokso Bridge, while Hanam-si insisted on Misa Bridge; failing to reach an agreement, the name Misa Bridge was finally confirmed by vote in 2008. Gangdong-gu argued that place names cannot be decided sequentially between local governments.

Lee Soo-hee, Mayor of Gangdong-gu, stated, "The quantitative criteria claimed by Guri-si, such as the extent of administrative district coverage and regional equity in bridge naming, are not fundamental considerations for naming based on the Place Names Work Manual of the National Geographic Information Institute," and added, "We will devote all administrative efforts to ensure that Godeok Bridge is reconsidered for naming by the National Place Names Committee."