Goyang City Opens International Event, but City Council Deadlock Shakes Trust

Goyang City Kicks Off 2025 Goyang Asia-Oceania Road Congress
City Council Rejects Agreement Motion Three Times, Completely Cuts Budget
Role as Co-Host in International Event Bearing 'Goyang' Name Significantly Restricted
City: "All Administrative Procedures Addressed... Further Obstruction Should Not Occur"

Goyang Special City in Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Lee Donghwan) is co-hosting the '2025 Goyang Asia-Oceania Road Congress,' the largest international event in the road sector, currently taking place at KINTEX. However, the event's operations are facing disruptions due to repeated rejections of agreement motions and budget cuts by the city council.

Exterior view of Goyang Special City Hall. Provided by Goyang Special City.

The congress opened on the 26th and will run for six days until the 31st, with around 5,000 participants from more than 70 countries in attendance.

This is the first time in ten years that such an event is being held in Korea since the 2015 Seoul World Road Congress. It is co-hosted by Goyang City and Korea Expressway Corporation, with the Korea Road Association serving as the main organizer. As the official title includes 'Goyang,' the event is seen as an opportunity to enhance the city's brand and international recognition.

However, after the city council rejected the agreement motion three consecutive times and completely cut the 700 million won budget allocated for the event, Goyang City's financial support has effectively come to a halt. With the international event already underway, the role of the co-hosting city has been significantly restricted.

This issue began in June last year, when the city council raised concerns over "signing an agreement without council approval."

In response, the city supplemented all related administrative procedures and resubmitted the agreement motion three times-during the regular session in June, and the special sessions in September and October of this year-but all were rejected. No specific reasons were provided during the review process.

Goyang City stated, "We are in a difficult situation because we have not been able to fulfill our financial responsibilities to the Korea Expressway Corporation, our co-host, and the Korea Road Association, the main organizer," adding, "All administrative procedural shortcomings have already been addressed."

The city further emphasized, "Trust is the most important asset when it comes to city diplomacy and attracting international events," and added, "Since this is an international event bearing the name of Goyang, we hope that the city's honor and trust will be prioritized over political considerations."

Meanwhile, the congress features participation from major global road organizations such as PIARC (World Road Association), IRF (International Road Federation), and REAAA (Road Engineering Association of Asia and Australasia), and is being held under the theme of "Future Road: Hyper-connection." The event will conclude on the 31st.