Opposition-led 'Daegwang Act' Amendment... Government Warns of "Confusion in Transportation Support System" [Why&Next]

Daegwang Act Amendment to Support Jeonju in Jeonbuk
May Be Submitted to Legislation Committee as Early as This Week
Jeonbuk's Daily Traffic Volume Is Only 5% of Seoul Metropolitan Area
If Law Passes, National Funds Would Build Jeonbuk Roads
Government Warns, "Other Regions May Make Similar Demands"

On the 13th of last month, during the plenary meeting of the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee held at the National Assembly, Kwon Young-jin, the coordinator of the People Power Party, is leaving in relation to the submission of the partial amendment bill on the Special Act on Metropolitan Area Wide-Area Transportation Management. Photo by Yonhap News

Conflicts between the government and local authorities are deepening over the method of metropolitan transportation support. The Democratic Party of Korea and the Jeonbuk region are advocating for an amendment to include Jeonju as a metropolitan transportation support city, but the government and the ruling party oppose it, arguing that it could destabilize the transportation support system. There are also concerns that if additional regions begin to receive support, the government's financial burden could increase sharply.

According to the National Assembly and the government on the 24th, the amendment to the "Special Act on Metropolitan Transportation Management (Daegwang Act)" is expected to be submitted to the full meeting of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee as early as this week. The Daegwang Act is a system that provides national funding when constructing roads or railways between areas classified as metropolitan areas. Currently, special and metropolitan cities are eligible for support, but the amendment stipulates that places with a population of over 500,000 and that are provincial government seats should also be included. The opposition parties, including the Democratic Party of Korea, passed the amendment unilaterally at the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee on the 13th.

Jeonju in Jeonbuk is the only city nationwide that meets the amendment criteria. Jeonju is a provincial government seat with a population of 630,000 as of last month. Opposition lawmakers argue that Jeonbuk has been excluded from new transportation network expansions because it did not receive support under the Daegwang Act and are pushing for the bill's passage. Lee Chun-seok, a Democratic Party member of the Land Committee who led the bill's passage, stated, "The Daegwang Act is meant to consider the long-neglected Jeonbuk, so it actually aligns with the constitutional spirit of balanced development."

The government holds the position that supporting Jeonju in Jeonbuk under the Daegwang Act is inappropriate when considering traffic volume. The daily metropolitan traffic volume in the Jeonbuk area under the amendment is 400,000 vehicles, which is 4.9% of the Seoul metropolitan area (8.16 million vehicles). It is also significantly lower than the Busan-Ulsan area (1.76 million vehicles), Daegu area (1.05 million vehicles), and Daejeon area (930,000 vehicles). Even compared to Gwangju area (640,000 vehicles), which currently has the lowest traffic volume among Daegwang Act cities, it is about two-thirds.

Other Regions May Demand Daegwang Act Support... "Undermining the Law's Purpose"

The government is also concerned that similar demands may erupt following the passage of this amendment. A government official said, "Once national funding starts for Jeonju, other cities may ask why they are not receiving it," adding, "If the support target keeps expanding like this, the purpose of building metropolitan transportation under the law could be undermined, leading to confusion." Currently, there are 19 cities with populations over 500,000, and 4 provincial government seats. Amendments to include Chuncheon City in Gangwon Province and Jeju City in Jeju Province under the Daegwang Act have already been proposed.

The budget requirements are inevitably increasing. According to the "4th Metropolitan Transportation Implementation Plan (2021-2025)," the total cost of metropolitan transportation facility projects nationwide amounts to 22.7455 trillion KRW. After 2025 alone, 11.4638 trillion KRW will be required. Under the Daegwang Act, the national government covers 50% of road costs and 30% of railway costs. A Ministry of Economy and Finance official said, "It is currently impossible to predict the increased budget due to the Daegwang Act amendment," and added, "The more cities supported, the more the financial burden could uncontrollably increase, which is a real concern."

The problem is that the actual benefits returning to the regions may be smaller than expected. This is because national roads and railways could be reclassified as metropolitan roads and railways. National roads and railways are fully funded by the central government, but metropolitan roads and railways require local governments to bear part of the costs. For example, the road and railway connecting Jeonju to Saemangeum require budgets of 280 billion KRW and 700 billion KRW, respectively. While the current plan is to build them as national roads and railways, if the Daegwang Act passes, they could become metropolitan roads and railways. In that case, local governments would have to bear 140 billion KRW (50%) for the road and 210 billion KRW (30%) for the railway.

Another government official analyzed, "Even the Gwangju area, which has a larger population than Jeonju, has transportation project costs of about 500 billion KRW," and added, "Even if the Daegwang Act passes, Jeonju might end up paying more than it receives."