6 Billion Academic Service and Privatization Controversy... Korea Rail Network Authority "Legal Procedures"

The National Railway Labor Union and the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice held a press conference on the 7th in front of the Board of Audit and Inspection, urging a national audit of the 6 billion KRW research service of the Korea Rail Network Authority. The research service raised as an issue by these organizations is titled "Establishment Plan for a Railway-Centered Transportation System in the Transition Period."

The Korea Rail Network Authority announced on the 7th that the large-scale research service contract worth 6 billion KRW was issued through proper procedures to realize carbon neutrality, responding to claims that this service could be used as a preliminary step toward railway privatization.

In a statement released that day, the Authority explained the background of the research service as follows: "The research service on 'Establishing a Transition Period Railway-Centered Transportation System' currently being promoted by the Authority is aimed at preparing railway policy directions and strategic implementation plans to strengthen the role of the railway transport sector during a period of major socio-economic transformation, including 2050 carbon neutrality due to climate change, the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and spatial structure changes caused by population decline."

The service was commissioned by the Authority in November last year, and the Korea Transport Association, which applied alone twice, was selected as the contractor. The research period is approximately 24 months until November 2023.

Regarding the criticism that the scale of the service is unusual, the Authority clarified, "This research service is for discovering railway policies and constructing railway networks in response to future environmental changes over the next 30, 40, and 50 years, and the scale and composition of the research team are appropriate." It added, "The selection of the service institution was conducted according to the Authority's service contract regulations through proper procedures," and "The research team was independently organized according to the internal regulations of the Korea Transport Association."

Furthermore, the Authority emphasized that the scale of the research service budget was also reduced and adjusted. The Authority stated, "The service scale was adjusted from the original 5.6 billion KRW to 2.8 billion KRW, and some researchers were supplemented during the process," and stressed, "The Authority will faithfully fulfill its role to efficiently implement the construction and management of railway facilities and related projects to enhance public transportation convenience and national economic development."

Meanwhile, the National Railway Labor Union and the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice have filed a public audit request with the Board of Audit and Inspection regarding the research service by the Authority.

They held a press conference in front of the Board of Audit and Inspection that day, stating, "A thorough investigation and supervision are necessary to determine the reason why the academic policy research service budget is as high as 6 billion KRW, the circumstances under which the Korea Transport Association won the contract as the sole bidder, the scale and content of the research service, and the composition of the research team."

The organizations said, "While technical service costs can reach tens of billions of KRW, research service costs related to the railway and transportation industries are usually at most 300 to 400 million KRW," adding, "Allocating 6 billion KRW for an academic policy research service is unprecedented in railway history."

They also pointed out that it is unclear whether this service falls under the Authority's jurisdiction, stating, "Overall national transportation system policies or railway transportation system and railway network construction plans are the exclusive jurisdiction of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, not the Authority, making this a duplication of work and a waste of taxpayers' money."

The organizations further argued that an investigation is needed into whether there were procedural issues in the process of composing the research team, which includes Kim Han-young, Chairman of the Authority, and Professor Seo Seon-duk, Emeritus Professor at Hanyang University who has advocated for railway privatization, as well as Dr. Lee Jae-hoon.

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