"Reviving Gyeonggi-do Properly"... Can Yoon Expand 'GTX'?

Last Year, Gyeonggi Soared Due to GTX Effect, Recently Paused
Candidate Yoon Seok-yeol Announces Transportation Pledge Including GTX Expansion
D Line 'Kim Yong-seon' → 'Kim Pal-seon'... Gimpo Residents "Welcome"
However, Huge Project Costs and Economic Feasibility Controversies Remain Obstacles

People Power Party's presidential candidate Yoon Seok-yeol is paying respects at the National 3·15 Democracy Cemetery in Masanhwoewon-gu, Changwon-si, Gyeongnam, on the afternoon of the 14th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

As apartment prices in Gyeonggi Province slow down due to loan regulations and interest rate hikes, Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, has announced a metropolitan area transportation pledge centered on extending the Seoul Metropolitan Area Express Train (GTX) lines A and C and establishing new lines D, E, and F. Areas related to this plan, including Gimpo in Gyeonggi Province?which had significant dissatisfaction last year due to the 'Kim-Bu-Seon (Gimpo~Bucheon line)' controversy?are generally welcoming. However, there are considerable criticisms that the plan's feasibility is low due to the enormous costs involved.

According to the real estate industry on the 15th, Yoon recently announced his metropolitan area transportation pledge, promising to extend GTX lines A and C to Pyeongtaek and to establish three new lines to expand the beneficiary areas. GTX is a metropolitan railway with an average operating speed of 100 km/h, and locations with stations are considered real estate boons. Last year, areas in Gyeonggi Province such as Anseong and Uiwang, where housing prices surged, also saw significant effects from GTX.

At the launch ceremony of the Gyeonggi Province election committee on the 12th, Yoon emphasized, "I, Yoon Seok-yeol, will properly revitalize Gyeonggi Province," adding, "I will open the 30-minute era to downtown Seoul by establishing new GTX lines."

According to Yoon's pledge, the GTX A line, which the current government has been promoting, will be extended from Unjeong through Dongtan to Pyeongtaek, and the C line will connect Dongducheon, Deokjeong, Suwon, and Pyeongtaek. The D line will start from Gimpo and connect Daejang, Sillim, Sadang, Samsung, Hanam, and Paldang. The newly established E line will connect Incheon, Gimpo Airport, Jeongneung, Guri, and Namyangju, and the F line will be a metropolitan area circular line starting from Goyang, passing through Ansan, Suwon, Yongin, Seongnam, Hanam, Uijeongbu, and returning to Goyang.

The area most welcoming of this pledge is Gimpo. Despite having a population exceeding 500,000, Gimpo relies on the two-car Gimpo Gold Line, making traffic congestion extremely severe. Yoon himself, after riding the Gimpo Gold Line on the morning of the 7th, said, "The light rail only has two cars, so the traffic is very inconvenient," and added, "Since many young people use this area, commuting must be very difficult."

Gimpo residents have consistently requested the establishment of a GTX line connecting Gimpo through Geomdan and Bucheon to Guro, Sadang, Samsung, Godeok, and Hanam, but these efforts have repeatedly failed due to opposition from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. In particular, last year, Gimpo residents held several protests demanding transportation network expansion, but in late June of the same year, the Ministry confirmed the establishment of the section from Gimpo Janggi Station to Bucheon Sports Complex Station, sharing the GTX-B line to connect to downtown Seoul stations such as Sindorim, Yeouido, and Yongsan, known as the 'Kim-Yong Line (Gimpo~Yongsan).'

On April 29 last year, members of the Gimpo Geomdan Transportation Citizens' Coalition held a protest in front of a building in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, demanding the extension of the GTX-D line to the Gangnam area. [Image source=Yonhap News]

When Yoon proposed the 'Kim-Pal Line (Gimpo~Paldang)' plan beyond the 'Kim-Yong Line,' Gimpo residents welcomed it. On online communities where Gimpo residents gather, many posts urge, "Gimpo, Geomdan, Gyeyang, Seoul Guro, Hanam, and other directly benefiting areas must make every effort to ensure this pledge is realized." A resident of the area said, "The establishment of the D line is the only way to eliminate transportation discrimination in the western metropolitan area."

However, opinions differ regarding the feasibility of the pledge. While the idea of expanding GTX to create a 30-minute living zone in the metropolitan area and stabilize housing prices in the long term is good, it is pointed out that the enormous project costs, uncertain economic viability, and impacts on existing lines make it difficult to proceed. The funding required for Yoon's pledge is approximately 17.64 trillion won. Combined with the costs of establishing the existing three GTX lines, it far exceeds 30 trillion won.

Even looking only at the 'Kim-Pal Line,' the government issued a negative judgment just six months ago due to business feasibility issues, so differences in opinions between the government and industry are expected in the future. At that time, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport promoted that connecting the line from Gimpo to Hanam would delay the project and reduce economic viability, and that sharing the B line to indirectly connect to downtown Seoul would allow travel to Yeouido in 24 minutes and Yongsan in 28 minutes.

In particular, there are many negative opinions such as, "It is unclear when the existing GTX lines under construction will be completed and opened, so even if new lines are promoted, it is questionable when construction can start." For the circular line, it is difficult to secure economic viability due to insufficient demand.

There are also opinions that this could stimulate the recently stabilizing housing prices in Gyeonggi Province again. Uiwang, located near Indeokwon Station on GTX-C, recorded the highest nationwide apartment price increase last year with a 38.56% surge over one year. However, this week it turned negative by -0.02%, marking the first decline in two years and five months since the third week of August 2019, showing signs of stabilization. Yoon's camp stated regarding concerns about housing price instability, "Prices may rise in the short term, but demand will be dispersed in the long term, leading to stabilization."

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