36 Years of Seongnam-Yongin Conflict Resolved Through 'Gogikyo (Bridge)' Cooperation... Traffic Improvement Initiated

Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon (third from the right), Yongin Mayor Lee Sang-il (fourth from the right), and Seongnam Mayor Shin Sang-jin (second from the right) are taking a commemorative photo after signing the traffic improvement agreement for Gogi Bridge on the 26th.

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province, Yongin City, and Seongnam City have agreed to work together to improve traffic around 'Gogigyo,' which has been causing chronic vehicle congestion. As a result, the conflict between Yongin City and Seongnam City, which had been sharply divided over the expansion and reconstruction of Gogigyo, has entered a resolution phase through mediation by Gyeonggi Province.

Gogigyo is a bridge 25 meters long and 8 meters wide connecting Daejang-dong in Bundang-gu, Seongnam City, and Gogidong in Suji-gu, Yongin City, constructed by Yongin City in 1986. Since the northern end of the bridge is owned by Seongnam City and the southern end by Yongin City, any reconstruction or expansion of Gogigyo requires agreement between the two regions.

Yongin City has actively promoted the expansion of Gogigyo considering frequent vehicle congestion in the nearby area and complaints due to river flooding. On the other hand, Seongnam City has shown disagreement with the expansion work, demanding measures to disperse increased traffic volume first.

In response, Gyeonggi Province launched the 'Gyeonggi Province-Yongin City-Seongnam City Win-Win Council' in September last year. Subsequently, a council for road and river discussions was formed for practical talks, continuing topic-specific working-level consultations for about seven months. On the 26th, the 'Gyeonggi Province-Yongin City-Seongnam City Win-Win Business Agreement for Traffic Improvement around Gogigyo' was signed at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Situation Room.

The signing ceremony was attended by Gyeonggi Governor Kim Dong-yeon, Yongin Mayor Lee Sang-il, Seongnam Mayor Shin Sang-jin, National Assembly members Jung Chun-sook and Ahn Cheol-soo, and Provincial Assembly member Kang Woong-cheol.

Governor Kim Dong-yeon said, "There was consultation and determination between the two regions, and the National Assembly members and Provincial Assembly members helped a lot. I hope this successful governance model between the two regions will become a good opportunity to spread beyond Gyeonggi Province to the whole Republic of Korea."

Yongin Mayor Lee Sang-il promised, "The long-standing project of expanding Gogigyo has been resolved. Yongin and Seongnam will actively solve this issue and establish a governance model for local governments nationwide."

Seongnam Mayor Shin Sang-jin emphasized, "Gogigyo played the trigger role for the governance model. In the future, it will be an opportunity to resolve conflicts or unresolved issues between all cities and counties in Gyeonggi Province."

The win-win cooperation agreement includes ▲ prevention of indiscriminate development around Gogigyo and expansion of infrastructure such as roads ▲ alleviation of traffic congestion in surrounding areas linked to the private road project near Gogidong ▲ promotion of a traffic impact analysis study on roads around Gogigyo and cooperation on the Gogigyo expansion project ▲ early construction and expansion of nearby roads (Yongin City Jung-ro 3-177 line) to disperse traffic volume.

The province plans to conduct a traffic impact analysis around Gogigyo next month, aiming to complete it by the first half of 2023, especially to implement the agreement items.

The traffic impact analysis will be jointly funded by Yongin City and Seongnam City, each contributing 200 million KRW, and will be overseen by Gyeonggi Province to ensure fairness and neutrality in the project.

The province plans to continuously maintain cooperative relationships among the agreement institutions and monitor progress to ensure active implementation of the agreed matters.

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