Sokcho Mayor-elect Byeongseon Lee, "Underground construction of Dongseo High-speed Rail station was impossible from the start"

Request to Transition Team for Practical Improvement Plans Including Bridge Construction for Completion by 2027

Lee Byung-seon, the mayor-elect of Sokcho (center in the photo), conducted an on-site inspection with the transition committee members on the 17th to assess local issues. [Sokcho Mayor Transition Committee]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ra Young-cheol] Lee Byung-sun, the elected mayor of Sokcho, criticized the underground construction feasibility study for the East-West High-Speed Railway station promoted by the 7th elected Sokcho city government, stating, "It was an impossible underground construction study from the start, wasting 200 million won of citizens' tax money."

According to the Sokcho mayoral transition committee on the 19th, Lee pointed out at a meeting related to the site inspection conducted by the transition committee on the 17th, "During the 7th elected term, there was a plan to underground the station, which divided public opinion under the pretext of a public survey, and 200 million won of citizens' tax money was spent on the study, but it turned out that underground construction is practically impossible."

He added, "Considering that Sokcho city must bear the increased project cost when undergrounding (approximately 390 billion won for undergrounding, about 250 billion won for semi-undergrounding) and that a preliminary feasibility study must be redone if the total project cost increases by more than 15%, further debate will only cause citizen division and project delays. Therefore, we will enforce a realistic improvement plan and ensure the opening in 2027."

Previously, Kim Cheol-soo, the 7th elected mayor of Sokcho, had promoted a study last year to request the government to underground the East-West High-Speed Railway and station, stating that "when the railway and station are constructed above ground, issues such as landscape degradation and division of the downtown area may occur, and it must be (semi-) undergrounded in preparation for the future construction of the Donghae Northern Line."

Meanwhile, the transition committee visited 10 sites, including the planned site for the East-West High-Speed Railway station, the sewage treatment plant, and the Seorak-dong reconstruction project site, which are ongoing major projects and included in key campaign promises.

The site inspection was attended by the elected mayor Lee, Chairman Yoon Kwang-hoon (former president of the Sokcho City Prosperity Association), Vice Chairman Yoon Seok-yoon (former deputy mayor of Incheon Metropolitan City), and all members of the four subcommittees of the transition committee.

Yoon Kwang-hoon, chairman of the transition committee, said, "We conducted the site inspection to enhance understanding of Sokcho city's major projects and to comprehensively check whether the reasonable voices of residents are reflected. We will prepare to improve the efficiency of implementing campaign promises after the launch of the 8th elected term."

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