Candidate Kim Gyeongjin: "I Will Complete the Gwangju~Suncheon High-Speed Rail Project"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Yoon Jamin] Kim Kyung-jin, a preliminary candidate for the National Assembly election in Buk-gu (Gap), Gwangju Metropolitan City, promised to "early complete the Gyeongjeon Line Gwangju~Suncheon section high-speed electrification project, a long-standing wish of Honam."

According to candidate Kim on the 4th, the Gyeongjeon Line is the only railway network connecting Gyeongsang Province and Jeolla Province, as its name suggests, linking 36 stations over 289.5 km from Gwangju Songjeong Station through Suncheon and Gwangyang to Busan.

Among the Gyeongjeon Line sections, the Suncheon~Busan section (about 170 km) has already been electrified or is currently undergoing electrification, whereas the Gwangju~Suncheon section (122.2 km) remains the only non-electrified section.

In particular, the Gwangju~Suncheon section has never been upgraded since its construction during the Japanese colonial period, earning the notorious title of "the slowest train in the world" and being cited as a representative case of discrimination between Yeongnam and Honam regions.

In fact, it is the only remaining non-electrified section among the country's four major trunk railway networks (Gyeongbu, Honam, Jungang, and Gyeongjeon Lines). As a result, although Gwangju~Suncheon is only about an hour away by bus, it takes 2 to 3 hours by train, and the total travel time from Gwangju to Busan is 5 to 6 hours, discouraging passengers from using the train.

Therefore, the high-speed electrification of the Gwangju~Suncheon section has been a long-standing wish of Honam. However, due to the enormous project budget, questions about feasibility and economic viability have repeatedly arisen, preventing progress in discussions.

In response, candidate Kim, aiming to fulfill the local residents' wishes, actively engaged in the Gwangju~Suncheon high-speed electrification project while serving as a member of the 20th National Assembly.

In April 2018, he held a National Assembly forum with 22 lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties and 20 local government heads along the route, submitting a joint petition to the government. This conveyed the wishes of over 10 million residents of Yeongnam and Honam. In June 2019, another National Assembly forum was held to publicize the necessity of the Gwangju~Suncheon high-speed electrification project once again.

Moreover, in August and November 2018, he held consecutive press conferences urging the immediate allocation of the project budget and personally met with Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon, the Minister of Strategy and Finance, and the KDI president to strongly request the passage of the preliminary feasibility study.

With the securing of 1 billion KRW for the basic plan establishment budget in 2019, the high-speed electrification project took its first step forward, and it finally passed the re-examination of the preliminary feasibility study, opening the dawn of the Gwangju~Busan high-speed rail era.

Accordingly, candidate Kim plans to take one step further and lead the early completion of the high-speed electrification project based on his experience and momentum.

The Gwangju~Suncheon high-speed electrification project was originally scheduled to construct a 122.2 km section with a high-speed train running at 250 km/h from 2020 to 2027, with a total project cost of 1.7569 trillion KRW. However, since the preliminary feasibility study was only passed at the end of last year (2019.12.19), after the government budget allocation was completed, no project budget was allocated for the first year, 2020.

Candidate Kim stated, "Since this is a large-scale national project worth about 1.8 trillion KRW, many variables will arise during the project progress, and budget allocation will be challenging. To ensure prompt project implementation and early completion, securing all related costs such as design fees, compensation costs, and main construction costs must not be disrupted."

He added, "Especially, for the entire Gwangju~Busan section to be activated, the prompt completion of the Gwangju~Suncheon section is urgent. Based on the proven know-how and momentum gained from winning the stalled high-speed electrification project, I will work on securing the project budget and early completion."

He further explained, "The Gwangju~Busan high-speed electrification will be a signal flare for Honam's development along with the establishment of the Gwangju Artificial Intelligence Industrial Complex. I will also do my best to prepare the necessary conditions so that more than 10 million residents of Yeongnam and Honam can build a 'New Southern Metropolitan Economic Zone' through human and material exchanges."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.