Wirye-Gwacheon Line Considered in Supplementary Budget Review? Why It Ultimately Failed

National Assembly Budget Committee Discusses Wirye-Gwacheon Metropolitan Railway
BTL Limit Increase Needed for Third-Party Proposal Notice

It has been confirmed that the Wirye-Gwacheon metropolitan railway project was also discussed during the coordination process for this year's second supplementary budget (extra budget). Although the project passed the private investment eligibility review in November of last year, the lack of supporting budget stalled further procedures. The discussion appears to have taken place unusually, following proposals from certain lawmakers.

However, the relevant details were not included in the meeting minutes, nor was the project listed as part of the supplementary budget. The government has decided to pursue the project by including it in next year's budget. Residents of southern metropolitan areas such as Wirye, who had hoped for improved transportation, will therefore have to wait until next year for progress on the project.

According to explanations from relevant ministries on July 8, the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts of the National Assembly recently deliberated on the supplementary budget bill, focusing on increasing the Build-Transfer-Lease (BTL) private investment project limit by 867.7 billion won. The Wirye-Gwacheon Line is a route connecting Gwacheon in Gyeonggi Province and Songpa in Seoul. The project is being pursued through a hybrid model that combines profit-based (BTO), where a private operator directly manages and profits from the project, and BTL.

On the 4th, a revised bill for the second supplementary budget of 2025 was passed at the National Assembly plenary session. Yonhap News

BTL is a project method in which the government must compensate the operator for part of the revenue each year. A certain amount of funding must be secured in advance in the budget. The Budget and Accounts Committee's move to increase the BTL limit means securing this budget. It involves allocating in advance the operating costs that the government will pay to the operator over several decades. Currently, this limit is fully utilized to support other projects.

What stands out in this second supplementary budget is that the review was conducted at the committee level, even though the government did not request it. Budgets for social overhead capital (SOC) such as roads and railways are often cited as areas where "local interests" are overtly pursued, not only in standing committee reviews but also during the Budget and Accounts Committee process. Nevertheless, opposition lawmakers with local bases outside the metropolitan area (Park Deokheum and Cho Jiyeon) proposed increasing the limit.

They stated, "The aim is to establish a metropolitan transportation network focused on the relatively underdeveloped southern metropolitan area to alleviate congestion on existing rail lines and road networks," and added, "It is necessary to newly reflect the increased limit in order to proceed with follow-up procedures." Lee Soyoung, a Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker who serves as a committee secretary, represents Gwacheon as her constituency.

Early view of Wirye New Town development (Asia Economy DB)

However, despite three ad hoc meetings and a total of five meetings including subcommittee sessions held by the Budget and Accounts Committee throughout last week, it appears that the Wirye-Gwacheon Line project was never officially mentioned. The National Assembly's ad hoc meeting minutes contain no record of the discussion. The minutes only note issues such as "consumption coupons" and "prosecution special activity funds" as points of contention. The so-called "small subcommittee," attended only by the committee chairs and secretaries from both parties, does not keep separate minutes.

In conclusion, since the Wirye-Gwacheon Line was not included in the supplementary budget, the project is now expected to move forward only next year. The project has attracted interest from a consortium led by Daewoo Engineering & Construction. However, in order to sign an actual project agreement, the government must issue a third-party proposal notice to determine whether other operators wish to participate. The BTL amount must be specified in this notice. Last year, the standing committee of the National Assembly also decided to increase the limit, but it was not included in the final main budget.

An official from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport stated, "We do not know the background for the discussion on increasing the BTL limit, but since the budget was ultimately not reflected, we are now planning to pursue the project by including it in next year's main budget."