The County Governor Can't Be Stopped... Oh Gyuseok, Gijang County Governor, Takes to the Streets Again to Attract KTX-Ieum Station

Oh County Governor Sends Appeal Letter to President, Prime Minister, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Korail President, and Busan City

Solo Protest at Bujeon Station on the 26th: "We Will Secure It for Gijang-gun Even if It Means Add

On March 26 at 11 a.m., Oh Gyu-seok, the mayor of Gijang-gun, held a solo protest in front of Bujeon Station to advocate for the establishment of a new KTX-Eum stop in Gijang-gun. Mayor Oh appealed, "A KTX-Eum stop is absolutely necessary for Gijang-gun." [Image source=Gijang-gun]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Kim Yong-woo] Oh Gyu-seok, the mayor of Busan’s Gijang County, has been holding solo protests day after day.

On the 25th, the day before, Mayor Oh took to the streets in front of Busan City Hall to promote the attraction of the ‘Urban Convergence Special Zone’ to Gijang. On the 26th at 11 a.m., he appeared in front of Bujeon Station with a changed protest sign.

That day’s protest was aimed at Korea Railroad Corporation, showing his determination to secure a stop for the new high-speed train KTX-Eum in Gijang County.

On the 24th, Mayor Oh visited the Korea Railroad Corporation in Daejeon to propose the establishment (stop) of a KTX-Eum station in Gijang County.

Considering that the decision on the stop station is scheduled for early next year, this was an early strategic move.

Mayor Oh emphasized, “With the world-class Osiria Tourist Complex and the county’s natural tourism resources, Gijang County is rapidly emerging as a tourist destination. To meet the rapidly increasing domestic and international tourism demand, including from the metropolitan area, a KTX-Eum stop station in Gijang County is absolutely necessary.”

Earlier, on the 25th, Mayor Oh sent an appeal letter to the President, Prime Minister, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, President of Korea Railroad Corporation, Acting Mayor of Busan, and relevant departments of these institutions, urging the attraction of the new KTX-Eum stop station to Gijang County.

In the appeal letter, Mayor Oh stated, “Gijang County is the world’s largest nuclear power plant cluster area, where residents have endured sacrifice and hardship for over 40 years, serving as a national power supply base. Now is the time for the central government to step up and compensate the people of Gijang for their sacrifices and hardships. The KTX-Eum stop station in Gijang is also a large-scale transportation means that can enable rapid evacuation in case of a nuclear accident,” presenting this as another reason for attracting the high-speed rail station.

The appeal letter also said, “If there are obstacles to attracting the KTX-Eum stop station to Gijang County, I, as mayor, will step forward to break them down. Gijang County will bear the costs necessary for establishing the stop station, even supplementing with county funds. We will also carry out a signature campaign involving all 176,000 residents. Together with the people of Gijang, I will devote myself fully to securing the KTX-Eum stop station in Gijang County.”

Earlier on the 24th, Mayor Oh and Gijang County officials visited the Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL) in Daejeon to strongly request the establishment of a new KTX stop station in Gijang County.

The new KTX-Eum line connecting Busan Bujeon and Seoul Cheongnyangni is scheduled for full opening by the end of 2022.

Since January this year, the new KTX has been operating preferentially along the KTX Jungang Line between Seoul Cheongnyangni and Andong. In the future, this main line will extend south from Andong Station to connect to Singyeongju Station, and by the end of 2022, it is planned to continue to Ulsan Taehwagang Station, Bujeon Station, and other stations on the Donghae Line.

Gijang County aims for the new KTX passing through the Gijang area to stop at stations between Taehwagang and Bujeon Station.

Gijang County’s strategy is to promote the ‘new KTX stop station’ in conjunction with attracting the urban rail lines ‘Gijang Line’ and ‘Nopo-Jeonggwan Line.’

The ‘Gijang Line’ is a 7.1 km urban rail line connecting Anpyeong Station on Metro Line 4 through Gijang and Gyori to Ilgwang New Town. The ‘Nopo-Jeonggwan Line’ is a 22.97 km tram line connecting Nopo Station on Metro Line 1 through Wolpyeong and Jeonggwan New Town to Jwacheon Station, currently being promoted under Busan’s urban rail network development plan.

If the KTX-Eum station in Gijang is realized, urban rail (Gijang Line and Nopo-Jeonggwan Line), conventional rail (Donghae Line), and KTX-Eum (semi-high-speed rail) will be connected as one centered on Gijang County, greatly improving accessibility to Busan’s downtown.

Gijang County expects that securing the nationwide rail network will bring revolutionary improvements to the local transportation system and will also boost efforts to attract the ‘Gijang Line’ and ‘Nopo-Jeonggwan Line’ through increased urban rail usage in the future.

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