Lee Jae-myung's 'Tenacious Administration'... "Proceeding with Public Interest Disposition to Make Ilsan Bridge Toll-Free"

Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung (fourth from the right) is taking a photo with attendees at a press conference held at Ilsan Bridge at 11 a.m. on the 3rd.

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, announced that he will take public interest disposition measures to make the Ilsan Bridge toll-free as early as next month.

Public interest disposition refers to the cancellation of management and operation rights of private investors by local governments when necessary for public interest, such as efficient operation of facilities, according to Article 47 of the "Private Investment in Social Overhead Capital Act."

On the 3rd, Lee posted on Facebook an article titled "Guaranteeing Basic Transportation Rights Comes First. We Will Take Public Interest Disposition to Make Ilsan Bridge Toll-Free," stating, "Restoring basic transportation rights takes precedence over economic logic," and added, "The excessive toll of Ilsan Bridge, the only toll bridge among the 28 Han River bridges, has long been a subject of criticism."

He continued, "The toll per kilometer is 13.2 times that of publicly funded roads, and now we intend to put an end to this," and announced, "Gyeonggi Province, together with Goyang City, Gimpo City, and Paju City, has decided to pursue public interest disposition to make the representative toll of Ilsan toll-free."

In particular, he explained the reason for the public interest disposition, saying, "So far, (Gyeonggi Province) has proposed improvement measures such as forums, refinancing, and acquisition of management and operation rights, and has repeatedly requested meetings with the chairman of the National Pension Service, but we have reached the conclusion that no further negotiations can be conducted."

However, Lee expressed his willingness to continue consultations during the public interest disposition process, stating, "We declare our intention to maintain continuous consultations with Ilsan Bridge Co., Ltd. and the National Pension Service," and urged active cooperation.

He emphasized, "Private investment projects may be necessary for national fiscal savings or faster SOC construction, and appropriate profit guarantees can be provided accordingly," but added, "However, roads are public goods, and citizens have the right to be guaranteed basic transportation rights by the state. The government should prioritize efforts to guarantee transportation rights over economic logic."

Furthermore, he criticized, "The National Pension Service is both the sole shareholder of Ilsan Bridge Co., Ltd. and an investor providing funds in the form of self-loans," and said, "Since acquiring 100% equity in 2009, the National Pension Service has raised tolls twice and is receiving interest by applying 8% senior debt and 20% subordinated debt rates, which neither aligns with the ESG (Environmental, Social Responsibility, Governance) management that the National Pension Service advocates nor is it fair."

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