"Opposition to GTX Cheongnyangni Substation Installation"... Residents Take Collective Action

Weekly Saturday Protest Announced in Front of Cheongnyangni Station Substation Installation Site
Claims of 'Electromagnetic Wave Hazards' and 'Unfairness of Substation Location'

Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul (Mayor Lee Pil-hyung) announced on the 19th that the ‘Cheongnyangni Station Lotte Castle Residents’ Representative Association’ held an ‘Opposition Rally Against the Installation of the Substation’ on the 16th in front of the tennis court inside Cheongnyangni Station, where the GTX-C substation is planned to be built.

About 200 residents who participated in the rally cited concerns about ‘electromagnetic wave hazards’ and the ‘unreasonableness of the substation’s location being very close to the apartment complex,’ demanding that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport withdraw the plan to install the Cheongnyangni Station substation.

Before the basic announcement of the GTX-C line, Dongdaemun-gu requested a change in the location of the Cheongnyangni substation during prior consultations, but in December last year, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced the implementation plan without reflecting the district’s opinion.

Since then, opposition from residents has continued in various places where the GTX project is being promoted. In September of this year, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced the first amendment to the GTX-C implementation plan, but upon confirming that the request to change the location of the Cheongnyangni Station substation was not reflected in the plan, residents took collective action.

According to the Residents’ Representative Association, residents plan to hold opposition rallies every Saturday in front of the site where the substation is planned to be installed and continue opposition protests three times a week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at three locations near Cheongnyangni Station.

Regarding this, a Dongdaemun-gu official said, “We understand that the GTX project is an important national policy to alleviate traffic congestion for residents of the metropolitan area, but no Dongdaemun-gu residents will accept the construction of a substation 18 meters in front of residential areas,” adding, “We are continuously requesting the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to reasonably adjust the location of the substation in consideration of the public’s residential happiness.”