Seoul City Council Transportation Committee Chair Woo Hyeong-chan Visits 'Sinwol-Yeoui Underground Road' Integrated Control Center to Inspect Operations

Rep. Lee Yong-seon, Chairman Woo Hyung-chan, and local officials inspect the 7-month operation of the 'Sinwol-Yeoui Underground Road' opened on April 16, encouraging stakeholders... Chairman Woo of the Transportation Committee urges the introduction of electronic billing for unpaid fees and improvements in operational issues such as large vehicle misentries to enhance citizen convenience and ensure stable operation

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Woo Hyung-chan, Chairman of the Seoul Metropolitan Council Transportation Committee (Democratic Party, Yangcheon 3), visited the integrated management center of the Sinwol-Yeoui Underground Road (formerly Seoul Jemulpo Tunnel), which opened on April 16, along with National Assembly member Lee Yong-seon (Yangcheon Eul), Yangcheon District Council member Park Jong-ho, Chairperson Park Myung-hee, Chairperson Lee Jae-woong, and Chairperson Choi Soo-kyun on the 9th of last month. They inspected the operational status and issues and encouraged the related staff.

The Sinwol-Yeoui Underground Road is a privately funded underground road with a total investment of 800 billion KRW. It is the first deep tunnel in Korea with a total length of 7.53 km and operates as a toll road exclusively for small vehicles.

National Assembly member Lee Yong-seon and Chairman Woo Hyung-chan received an operational report from on-site personnel and the Seoul City Road Planning Director. They addressed issues such as traffic congestion at the underground road entrances and exits, the toll collection system for unpaid vehicles, and mistaken entry of large vehicles, proposing improvement measures. They urged prompt resolution of these problems to ensure the safety of local citizens and alleviate inconvenience.

Despite the Sinwol-Yeoui Underground Road being the nation’s first road exclusively for small vehicles, safety accidents have continued due to mistaken entry by large vehicles. To prevent such errors, facilities such as large vehicle entry blocking guidance, barriers, air balloon signboards, and large rotary devices have been actively reinforced.

National Assembly member Lee Yong-seon stated, “The effect of constructing the Sinwol-Yeoui Underground Road is being diminished due to congestion at the road’s start and end points during rush hours. If structural improvements are difficult, please actively utilize software-based improvements such as adjusting signal timings.” He added, “I hope you continue to do your best for stable operation in the future.”

Chairman Woo Hyung-chan said, “The ‘Smart Tolling’ system of the Sinwol-Yeoui Underground Road offers convenience by collecting tolls unmanned, but the excessive penalty tolls charged at ten times the amount for vehicles unaware of unpaid tolls are unreasonable.” He requested, “Please promptly introduce an electronic notification system to prevent harm to honest users.”

He also expressed hope that “the Sinwol-Yeoui Underground Road will safely and quickly connect southwestern Seoul and the city center, linking the geographically separated Gangseo-gu and Yangcheon-gu, contributing to regional balanced development.” He urged, “For this, I ask Seoul city officials and on-site personnel to maintain continuous interest and do their best for stable operation.”

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