Assemblyman Jo O-seop: "Gwangju-Daegu Dalbit Inland Railroad Must Be Reflected in the National Railway Network"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Jo O-seop, member of the National Assembly (Democratic Party of Korea·Gwangju Buk-gu Gap), is putting all his efforts into reflecting the Gwangju~Daegu Dalbit Inland Railway in the final plan of the 4th National Railroad Network Construction Plan.

Jo previously held a joint press conference with Assemblyman Kim Sang-hoon and also submitted a joint proposal to government ministries.

In a five-minute speech at the National Assembly plenary session the day before, Assemblyman Jo stated, “The Dalbit Inland Railway, a campaign pledge for mutual development between Yeongnam and Honam regions by President Moon Jae-in and one of the 100 national tasks, is a national balanced development route where policy judgment prioritized necessity over economic feasibility,” adding, “It must be reflected in the final plan of the 4th National Railroad Network Construction Plan.”

He continued, “The early supply of the national railroad network is not a matter of choice based on economic feasibility but an urgent issue to secure the survival of local areas and national growth engines,” and said, “It was excluded from the draft of the 4th National Railroad Network Construction Plan due to rigid administration by outdated government officials hiding behind administrative convenience called economic feasibility and a lack of understanding of regional balanced development.”

He also explained, “The Dalbit Inland Railway is a ‘great integration’ route for east-west harmony, demanded by both ruling and opposition parties as well as central and local governments for over 20 years to resolve the emotional division between Yeongnam and Honam,” adding, “It is a route with high potential for national balanced development that will activate the southern regional metropolitan economic zone and create synergy by linking regional industries from Gwangju, Daegu, Ulsan to Busan.”

He added, “Even if a railway is laid after the population decreases and industries disappear, turning the region into a desert, an oasis will not suddenly appear and grass will not grow,” and said, “I hope that the remarkable achievements of national balanced development under the Moon Jae-in administration will be realized through the early supply of railways, the best means to prevent local extinction crises and create local metropolitan economic zones competitive with the metropolitan area.”

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