Sunchon City Proposal for Seongsan Station Bypass Virtually Collapsed
"Mayor Noh Must Stop Irresponsible Agitative Politics"
The office of Kim Moon-soo, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea representing Suncheon, Gwangyang, Gokseong, and Gurye Gap, announced on the 13th that it has confirmed from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport that the proposal by Suncheon City to reroute Seongsan Station has been virtually abandoned.
According to confirmations from related agencies obtained by Kim Moon-soo's office, the Seongsan Station rerouting plan was the alternative most strongly promoted by Suncheon City. Instead, the undergrounding of the Suncheon downtown section is being considered as a likely alternative.
On the 13th, the office of National Assembly member Kim Moon-soo announced that it had confirmed from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport that the Seongsan Station bypass plan proposed by Suncheon City has been virtually abandoned. Photo by Kim Moon-soo's office
This information was conveyed during a working-level meeting between the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Suncheon City, and Jeollanam-do on August 28.
Mayor Noh Kwan-gyu of Suncheon strongly demanded the "Suncheon downtown rerouting plan" when Minister Won Hee-ryong of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport visited Suncheon on February 16 last year, and at the opening ceremony of the Suncheonman International Garden Expo held on March 31 of the same year, he announced that “President Yoon Seok-yeol ordered the rerouting of the Gyeongjeon Line through downtown Suncheon.”
However, Mayor Noh’s statement was ultimately proven unsuccessful as the Seongsan Station rerouting plan was virtually abandoned.
Accordingly, criticism is expected to arise that Suncheon City’s response was politically inflated without sufficient review. There were many criticisms that the Seongsan Station rerouting plan, which Suncheon City strongly promoted, had many limitations. The rerouting line passes through the Ramsar wetland-designated Suncheonman National Garden, making consultation with the Ministry of Environment virtually impossible.
Moreover, securing economic feasibility was not easy. The original plan barely passed the preliminary feasibility re-examination by the National Balanced Development Committee in 2019. At that time, the cost-benefit analysis (B/C) was 0.888, failing to exceed the passing criterion of 1.
However, it barely passed the comprehensive evaluation (AHP) with a score of 0.653 (passing criterion 0.5). The rerouting line, which inevitably increases costs, would have even lower economic feasibility.
Thus, the rerouting plan promoted by Suncheon City without thorough review resulted in delays in the construction of the Gyeongjeon Line. This is because 1 year and 6 months were wasted just reviewing the rerouting line, and there is a high possibility of further delays of more than 1 year and 6 months.
Due to increased project costs, a re-examination of feasibility is also immediately necessary. If the re-examination results show insufficient feasibility, there is a significant risk that the project will drift long-term or be abandoned.
Assemblyman Kim Moon-soo pointed out, “Although Mayor Noh Kwan-gyu called Minister Won Hee-ryong to flaunt their friendship without meticulous review, the result has put the project at risk of cancellation due to construction delays and increased costs.”
He added, “Mayor Noh criticized his political rivals, former Jeonnam Governor Kim Young-rok and former Assemblyman So Byung-chul, over the Gyeongjeon Line construction issue, but due to irresponsible political agitation, the only ones who ultimately suffer are the citizens of Suncheon, and Mayor Noh must sincerely apologize to the citizens of Suncheon.”
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