When Will the Geoga Bridge Toll Be Halved... Gyeongnam Province to Officially Announce After Consultation with Busan

The Gyeongnam Provincial Party Committee of the Democratic Party of Korea held a press conference urging the toll fee for the Geoga Bridge to be halved. / Photo by Se-ryeong Lee ryeong@

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Seryeong] The Democratic Party of Korea's Gyeongnam Provincial Party Committee called for a 50% reduction in the toll fees of the Geoga Bridge on the 13th.

Byun Gwang-yong, chairman of the Democratic Party's Geoje Regional Committee, and others held a press conference at the provincial government press center, demanding, "Please actively work towards the prompt implementation of the half-price toll fees that Geoje citizens and the public can feel."

The party committee claimed, "The Geoga Bridge toll fee is 7.7 times higher than that of financial expressways, making it the most expensive nationwide."

They explained that during the 7th local government of Gyeongnam, the administration ▲ jointly conducted a feasibility study with Busan City in 2019 on reducing the Geoga Bridge toll fees ▲ implemented a 5,000 KRW reduction in tolls for large freight vehicles in 2020 ▲ secured 86.9 billion KRW in funds in 2021 by lowering the interest rate on loans from private investors ▲ pursued a 7,000 KRW reduction in passenger car tolls and half-price toll fees.

Chairman Byun criticized, "The 8th local government is reportedly pushing for a 1,000 to 2,000 KRW reduction for passenger cars on holidays only, using the 86.9 billion KRW secured through financial restructuring," calling it a "token gesture."

He also pointed out to President Yoon Suk-yeol, "Although he pledged to reduce the Geoga Bridge toll fees, there has been no sign of will or effort to implement it after his election."

In response, Gyeongnam Province stated, "We are currently consulting with Busan City and others to reduce the Geoga Bridge toll fees," expressing regret that "it is unfortunate to distort the efforts made by the 8th local government over the past six months at a time when we need to unite our efforts to reduce the toll fees."

They rebutted, "During the 7th local government, there was no toll reduction excluding large vehicles, and the 7,000 KRW toll and half-price toll fees were neither negotiated nor pursued."

A provincial official explained, "A financial restructuring plan was submitted last December, and the shared benefits were finally confirmed during the 8th local government. We are finalizing consultations with Busan City to utilize this for toll fee reductions."

"We are also working hard with local and provincial lawmakers to secure feasibility study funds for private investment roads that were not reflected in the government budget," they added.

The province said, "We are doing our best, including making proposals to the government, to achieve the goal of reducing the Geoga Bridge toll fees," and added, "Since the extent and scale of the reduction have not yet been finalized, it is premature to evaluate the ongoing matter."

Gyeongnam Province plans to make an official announcement regarding the extent, scale, and scope of the Geoga Bridge toll fee reduction as soon as consultations with Busan City are completed.

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