Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport: "Won Hee-ryong Did Not Intervene in Route Change... Learned of Mrs. Kim's Land Existence Last Month"

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport denied the Democratic Party's allegation that Minister Won Hee-ryong intervened in the route change of the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway, stating it is "not true." It also refuted the Democratic Party's suspicion that the plan was drastically revised within three months without collecting residents' opinions regarding the terminal change, asserting that the opinion collection followed proper procedures and consultations were held with Yangpyeong County.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 10th, Baek Won-guk, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, released reference materials and rebutted the Democratic Party's allegations point by point during a background briefing regarding the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway.

Project cost increase due to terminal change is 14 billion KRW, not 130 billion KRW... Plan revision was pre-consulted with Yangpyeong County

First, regarding the suspicion that changing the terminal from Yangseo-myeon to Gangsaeng-myeon increased the project cost by 130 billion KRW and worsened economic feasibility, the ministry corrected this by stating, "The project cost increase is not 130 billion KRW but 14 billion KRW." It further explained that although there was an approximately 82 billion KRW increase in project costs at the starting point reflecting consultations with related agencies after the preliminary feasibility study (PFS), this was unrelated to the terminal change.

The ministry claimed, "The optimal plan derived during the feasibility study shows an average daily traffic volume about 6,000 vehicles higher than the PFS plan. The traffic absorption effect on nearby roads, National Route 6 and Local Route 88, is also greater, making the optimal plan more effective in alleviating traffic congestion."

Regarding the criticism that there was no collection of residents' opinions on the terminal change and that the plan was drastically revised, the ministry stated, "Since the feasibility study began in March 2022, consultations have been held with Yangpyeong County and other related agencies until February this year, and after about a year of review, the optimal route was derived." It added, "The design firm, which conducted the study, proposed the alternative of changing the terminal to Gangsaeng-myeon in May last year, and in July 2022, Yangpyeong County also suggested the installation of Gangha IC as one of the alternatives." Furthermore, it emphasized that the project is currently in the feasibility evaluation stage, where various alternatives are being reviewed to find the optimal route, and the route has not been changed yet.

Regarding the claim that changing the terminal would diminish the traffic congestion relief effect near Dumulmeori, which was the reason for promoting the project, the ministry argued, "It is more effective to connect from Gangsaeng-myeon towards Seoul without extending to the PFS plan near Dumulmeori." The ministry also forecasted that the traffic congestion on National Route 6 would be further alleviated once the Hwado-Yangpyeong section of the Metropolitan Area 2nd Ring Road, scheduled for completion by the end of the year, opens.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Minister Won was unaware of Kim Gun-hee family land in advance... Learned through Democratic Party inquiry letter

Regarding whether the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Yangpyeong County colluded in advance to change the terminal, the ministry explained, "After the feasibility study began in March last year, the design firm conducting the study first proposed the terminal change route to Gangsaeng-myeon following field surveys. The ministry sent an opinion inquiry letter about the PFS plan in July last year, and Yangpyeong County responded by suggesting three separate routes, two of which had terminals in Gangsaeng-myeon."

Vice Minister Baek said, "Yangpyeong County also proposed the installation of Gangha IC as one of the alternatives in July last year." He added, "On June 21, there was a plan for a draft environmental assessment public inspection and a residents' briefing session scheduled for early July, but these were suspended after the controversy arose." He further noted, "Since the project is currently in the feasibility evaluation stage, the changed route has not been finalized."

At the National Assembly audit in October, Minister Won Hee-ryong addressed the allegation that he was aware in advance of the Kim Gun-hee family's land in the Yangpyeong area and intervened in the route change.

The ministry responded, "The audit question was about whether the landform changes of several lands in Yangpyeong County were illegal, and we replied that we would check. Upon verification, the landform changes were unrelated to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, so no separate review was conducted, and this was not included in the audit report."

It further explained that Yangpyeong County had independently reviewed various routes considering local development and residents' opinions even before the ministry's opinion inquiry, and currently, all alternatives including the design firm's proposal, Yangpyeong County's suggestion, and the PFS plan are undergoing related procedures and detailed reviews such as strategic environmental impact assessments.

Regarding the suspicion that Minister Won Hee-ryong was aware in advance of the Kim Gun-hee family's land at the terminal and intervened in the route change, the ministry clarified that Minister Won became aware of the land on the 29th of last month after receiving a query letter from Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Du-gwan and being briefed by the working-level department.

It was confirmed that last year's audit question was about whether the landform changes of several lands in Yangpyeong County were illegal, and the ministry's reply was that it would check. The issue was related to landform changes in the mountainous area of the Jungbu Inland Expressway and was unrelated to the ministry, so no separate review was conducted.

There is no reason for the minister to have been briefed on such matters during the mid-process of the strategic environmental impact assessment reviewing various route alternatives, and there is no procedure to identify landowners in the usual expressway feasibility evaluation process.

Meanwhile, Minister Won reiterated his stance that if political attacks continue regarding the full cancellation of the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway project amid allegations of favoritism toward President Yoon Seok-yeol's wife's family, the project cannot be resumed.

After completing a 'Tower Crane Safety Inspection Meeting' at a joint housing construction site in Sejong City, Minister Won told reporters, "If we get dragged into the Democratic Party's offensive, the project will not proceed, and similar cases will continue to occur." He added, "We will approach this with extraordinary determination to firmly block political attacks based on false agitation."

Regarding whether the project will be resumed, he said, "Even though we proposed ways to avoid political attacks, they were not accepted. If false political attacks continue as they are now, we will not be able to proceed with the project. This is a clear position."

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