Guri City Council Chairman Shin Donghwa: "B/C 1.45, Yet No Stop at Galmae Station? Clearly Administrative Tyranny"

‘GTX-B Galmae Station Stop and Metropolitan Transportation Act Amendment’
Guri City Council Unanimously Adopts Urging Resolution
"National Studies Fully Prove Economic Viability and Feasibility
Firm Opposition to GTX-B Line Without a Stop at Galmae Station"

Guri City Council (Chairman Shin Donghwa) unanimously adopted a resolution at the 356th extraordinary session urging the confirmation of the additional stop at Galmae Station on the GTX-B line and the prompt passage of the amendment to the Special Act on Metropolitan Area Wide Transportation Management (hereinafter referred to as the Metropolitan Transportation Act).

Guri City Council (Chairman Shin Donghwa) unanimously adopted a resolution at the 356th extraordinary session urging the confirmation of the additional stop at Galmae Station on the GTX-B line and the prompt passage of the amendment to the Special Act on Metropolitan Area Wide Transportation Management (hereinafter referred to as the Metropolitan Transportation Act). Provided by Guri City Council

Chairman Shin Donghwa, who sponsored this resolution, stated, "A stop at Galmae Station on the GTX-B line is not a matter of choice but a necessity. Nevertheless, pushing forward with the project without confirming the stop at Galmae Station constitutes administrative tyranny and regional discrimination." He explained that, given the seriousness of the situation, he personally sponsored the resolution on behalf of all Guri City Council members.

In his proposal explanation, Chairman Shin pointed out, "Although the GTX-B line passes directly through the center of Galmae-dong, the plan is for it to pass through without stopping, which infringes upon residents' rights to survival and education and causes severe transportation imbalance within the same living area." He emphasized two main points in the resolution: first, due to the structural characteristic where the Galmae-Mangwoo section transitions from deep underground to above ground, the noise and vibration from trains passing every approximately 2.4 minutes are seriously impacting residents' living environment and educational rights; second, he highlighted the clear institutional unfairness that occurred when the Galmae Station area was excluded from the scope of metropolitan transportation improvement measures due to the "implementation date restriction" in the 2019 amendment to the Metropolitan Transportation Act, creating a legislative blind spot.

Chairman Shin strongly urged the prompt passage of the amendment to the Metropolitan Transportation Act, sponsored by National Assemblyman Yoon Hojoong. He explained, "Even if the development is already completed or underway, the amendment would allow adjacent project areas to be managed as a single large-scale project (over 2 million square meters), thereby establishing a legal basis for Galmae District and Galmae Station Area to receive substantial metropolitan transportation support at the national level."

Furthermore, through the resolution, Chairman Shin called for: first, the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee to prioritize the pending amendment to the Metropolitan Transportation Act as a top livelihood bill and pass it immediately; second, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to recognize the Galmae District and Galmae Station Area as a unified project and confirm the GTX-B Galmae Station stop without delay; third, the suspension of all related construction, including maintenance platforms, until the stop at Galmae Station is confirmed; and fourth, a comprehensive review of the railroad project approach that is based on unilateral sacrifice by residents, along with the establishment of fundamental measures to improve the environment and transportation.

Chairman Shin Donghwa, who sponsored this resolution, stated, "In the preliminary feasibility study conducted by Guri City itself, the cost-benefit ratio (B/C) for the additional stop at Galmae Station was 1.57, and the feasibility verification study conducted by the National Railroad Authority also produced a result of 1.45." He strongly criticized, "Even national studies have sufficiently proven the economic viability and feasibility, so excluding the stop is an administratively and logically unacceptable decision."

He further emphasized, "Forcing Galmae-dong residents to endure noise, vibration, and safety risks without providing any transportation benefits is essentially imposing unilateral sacrifice. Guri City Council, together with 190,000 citizens, will mobilize all possible means and continue to respond until the stop at Galmae Station on the GTX-B line is confirmed."

Starting from the adoption of this resolution, Guri City Council plans to continuously carry out comprehensive policy responses and citizen cooperation activities targeting relevant organizations such as the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, and private operators.

Meanwhile, Chairman Shin expressed strong regret toward Mayor Baek Kyunghyun for not attending the emergency question session regarding the push for a stop at Galmae Station on the GTX-B line, and announced that, in accordance with an agreement between ruling and opposition council members, another extraordinary session will be convened on February 3.