Controversy Over Special Privileges in 'Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway'... Won Hee-ryong Steps In to Manage

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport "Complete Review of Project Plan"
Opposition "Terminal Changed Immediately After New County Head... Must Investigate"
Won Hee-ryong "Allegations of Procedural Issues Are Speculation"

Regarding the opposition's allegations that the Kim Geon-hee family received special favors due to the change in the terminus of the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong dismissed the suspicions, stating, "The suspicion that there was a procedural problem in the change is 'brain fiction' and is completely untrue." The Democratic Party of Korea is calling for a thorough investigation, saying the process of changing the terminus is suspicious.

At a press briefing held at the Government Complex Sejong on the 3rd, Minister Won said, "We never made a decision to change it, and after receiving the report, there was no reason to push the project forward amid suspicions, so we ordered a full review." He explained that the decision was made from a practical standpoint considering economic feasibility, but since political suspicions arose, he instructed a re-examination.

The controversy arose when the terminus of the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway, which passed the preliminary feasibility study in 2021, was changed from Yangseo-myeon to Gangsaeng-myeon in Yangpyeong-gun, Gyeonggi Province. Near Gangsaeng-myeon, there is land owned by the Kim Geon-hee family.

The Democratic Party raised suspicions that the Kim family received special favors due to the terminus change. On the 1st, Chief Spokesperson Kwon Chil-seung criticized, "Changing the terminus to near the land owned by the Kim family requires a reanalysis of economic feasibility and inevitably increases project costs," and asked, "For what reason did they forcibly push to change the terminus to the land owned by the Kim Geon-hee family, wasting taxpayers' money?"

Won Hee-ryong, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, is speaking at a press briefing held at the Government Complex Sejong in Sejong City on the morning of the 3rd. [Image source=Yonhap News]

As the controversy escalated, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport canceled the scheduled briefing session for the route earlier this month and decided to conduct a full review of the project plan.

However, the Democratic Party urged that the allegations of special favors to the Kim family be investigated. They demand a detailed explanation of the process by which the terminus was changed to Gangsaeng-myeon immediately after the county governor, who had consistently pursued the plan with the terminus set at Yangseo-myeon during the previous governor's term, was replaced by a governor from the People Power Party.

On the same day, Democratic Party lawmaker Kang Deuk-gu said on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus,' "The Ministry of Land requested consultation, and Yangpyeong-gun submitted its opinion, but the position on the terminus changed just about a month after the governor changed," adding, "It is reasonable for anyone to suspect that such a major project could be changed within a month of the governor's inauguration."

Kang said, "Former Governor Jeong Dong-gyun said that during his term, there was never an official proposal regarding Gangsaeng-myeon," and added, "While residents may have various opinions, once the project was formalized, the terminus was from start to finish Yangseo-myeon."

He continued, "The land owned by the Kim family is adjacent to Namyangpyeong IC, and if a new expressway is confirmed that allows access to the Gangnam area within 20 to 30 minutes, it would be a huge boon," and shared, "I went to Yangpyeong yesterday, and real estate experts said that if only the route changes, that area will become golden land."

Democratic Party lawmaker Go Min-jung also pointed out in an interview with CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' on the same day, "The Kim family has owned the land for a long time, and given the high public interest in cases related to President Yoon's mother-in-law, the government ministries could not have overlooked this," and criticized, "If the opposition can uncover this, but the government ministries did not know, that would be incompetence."

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