People Power Party's Woo Jaejun Criticizes Daegu for Forcing AGT System on Urban Railway Line 4... Calls for Review of National Funding Cuts

Refusal to Submit Data and Opaque Project Implementation

Woo Jaejun, member of the People Power Party (representing Buk-gu Gap, Daegu), stated on June 12, "The city of Daegu is unilaterally pushing forward with the Urban Railway Line 4 (EXCO Line) project," emphasizing that, since taxpayer money is being used, the process must be conducted transparently.

Daegu City has so far explained that the monorail method for Urban Railway Line 4 is not feasible due to concerns over technology leakage during the type approval process under the revised Railway Safety Act, as raised by the manufacturer (Hitachi). However, in April, Woo Jaejun's office disclosed an official letter from the manufacturer (Hitachi) stating, "We have never raised concerns about possible technology leakage due to the type approval process." This directly contradicts Daegu City's previous claims.

Woo Jaejun, member of the People Power Party

Additionally, it was revealed that Daegu City never held any official consultations with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport regarding Hitachi's proposal from 2022, when discussions with the manufacturer began, until the announcement of the master plan based on the AGT system. According to documents submitted by the Ministry, there were no discussions between Daegu City's Railway Facilities Division and the Metropolitan Transport Commission of the Ministry regarding the revision of the Railway Safety Act or type approval.

Since the revision of the Railway Safety Act in 2014, only one suggestion regarding regulatory improvement for type approval has been submitted to the Office for Government Policy Coordination, and it was found to be an individual civil petition, not an official request from Daegu City. Despite having opportunities to discuss the revision of the Railway Safety Act before switching to the AGT system, Daegu City never once requested official consultations with government ministries or the National Assembly, which is the legislative body.

Woo Jaejun also pointed out that Daegu City has consistently been uncooperative in response to requests for information. He criticized the city for its irresponsible stance, stating that, even though Urban Railway Line 4 is a national project funded by taxpayer money and has a significant impact on the lives of Daegu citizens, the city claims it has "no obligation to submit materials" and is failing in its duty to be transparent about the project's progress.

In response, Woo stated, "There are questionable aspects regarding the process of changing Urban Railway Line 4 to the AGT system, including the lack of any official consultations with central government ministries," and emphasized, "Nevertheless, Daegu City is proceeding with the project in a unilateral and non-transparent manner, which is cause for concern."

Woo also said, "Just as Daegu City claims it has no obligation to submit materials, the National Assembly also has no obligation to allocate budget to a project that could waste taxpayers' money," and added, "If the national budget is reduced due to the city's continued lack of transparency, the responsibility lies solely with Daegu City."