Gwangju and Daegu Mayors Submit Joint Opinion Letter on Dalbit Inland Railroad to Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport

On the afternoon of the 26th, Lee Yong-seop, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, and Kwon Young-jin, Mayor of Daegu Metropolitan City, held a meeting with No Hyung-wook, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, at the National Land Development Exhibition Hall in Seoul. They submitted a joint statement signed by six governors from the Yeongnam and Honam regions urging the inclusion of the Dalbit Inland Railway project in the 4th National Railroad Network Construction Plan. Photo by Gwangju Metropolitan City

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Lee Yong-seop, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, and Kwon Young-jin, Mayor of Daegu Metropolitan City, met with Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Noh Hyung-wook on the 26th and submitted a joint opinion letter from six Yeongho-nam provincial governors urging the inclusion of the Dalbit Inland Railway project in the 4th National Railway Network Construction Plan.

This joint submission of opinions is a response to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's request on the 7th for opinions on the draft of the 4th National Railway Network Construction Plan from various cities and provinces. Considering the usual practice of submitting opinions individually by each institution, this is highly unusual.

It appears to express the strong and urgent will of the residents of Yeongho-nam provinces.

During the meeting with Minister Noh Hyung-wook, Mayors Lee Yong-seop of Gwangju and Kwon Young-jin of Daegu emphasized that “the Dalbit Inland Railway was promised by President Moon Jae-in to the residents of Yeongho-nam provinces. It is an essential project for East-West harmony and national balanced development. The Yeongho-nam inland area is the only ultra-wide area without any connecting railway network, and the Daegu-Gwangju route is the only major city connection without a railway line among special metropolitan cities.”

They also stated, “Once the Dalbit Inland Railway is constructed, it is expected to greatly revitalize the entire national major railway network, including the Gyeongbu Line, Jeolla Line, and Honam Line, which connect to this route.”

Meanwhile, the Dalbit Inland Railway has been a project jointly and diligently promoted by Yeongho-nam for over 20 years to achieve East-West harmony and national balanced development. Expectations grew significantly when President Moon Jae-in promised this project as a representative pledge for Yeongho-nam mutual cooperation during the last presidential election.

However, when the draft of the 4th National Railway Network Construction Plan announced by the government on April 22 excluded this project, the 9.7 million residents within the Yeongho-nam influence area received it with shock. Since then, local governments, members of the National Assembly, civic groups, and the media from Yeongho-nam have united in strongly urging government ministries to include the project in the national plan.

The 4th National Railway Network Construction Plan, which outlines the national railway network construction vision for the next 10 years, is scheduled to be finalized and announced next month after collecting opinions from cities and provinces and undergoing deliberation by the Railway Industry Committee.

The mayors of Gwangju and Daegu, who met with the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, stated, “The six Yeongho-nam cities and provinces will closely unite and cooperate to do their utmost until the Dalbit Inland Railway is definitely included in the national plan.”

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