Ruling and Opposition Clash Over 'Kim Geon-hee Road'... Three Key Issues in the Cancellation of Yangpyeong Expressway

'Ddongbol' vs 'Gukjeong Nongdan'
Truth Battle Between Ruling and Opposition Over Highway
Controversy Likely to Continue

"They kicked a dud. They are being criticized by the residents of Yangpyeong-gun now for making fake news and rumors and making futile efforts." (Kim Ki-hyun, People Power Party leader)

"This is state power abuse. This incident is a typical case of power-type corruption suspicion involving the president's relatives." (Lee Jae-myung, Democratic Party leader)

The ruling and opposition parties are fiercely clashing over the highway project connecting Seoul and Yangpyeong. The Democratic Party first raised suspicions. The Democratic Party alleged that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport pushed to change the highway route to Gangsaeng-myeon, Yangpyeong-gun, where First Lady Kim Geon-hee's family land is located, raising suspicions of preferential treatment. In response, Land Minister Won Hee-ryong declared a complete cancellation of the highway construction plan, calling it "a political offensive by the Democratic Party." The People Power Party countered that the route change was first pushed by the Democratic Party two years ago and that the land purchase involving Democratic Party officials is the problem. The various controversies over the Seoul-Yangpyeong Highway construction are ongoing. The key issues are ▲ the timing of First Lady Kim Geon-hee's land ownership, ▲ the situation at the time of the route change, and ▲ the rise in land prices.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

① When did First Lady Kim Geon-hee's family acquire the land?

The controversy over the Seoul-Yangpyeong Highway terminus change ignited in earnest when Kim Du-kwon, a member of the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, raised suspicions of preferential treatment involving President Yoon Seok-yeol's in-laws at the committee's full meeting on the 29th of last month. Kim said at the time, "The highway terminus was changed from the original plan in May, the total length of the highway increased by 2 km, and the construction cost rose by nearly 100 billion won," adding, "The changed terminus is located in Gangsaeng-myeon, where the First Lady Kim Geon-hee's family ancestral burial site is located."

First Lady Kim's family actually owns about 12,500 pyeong (approximately 41,320 square meters) of land in Gangsaeng-myeon, Yangpyeong-gun. Kim owns the most land, and her siblings and mother, Choi Eun-soon, also own land. However, the land was inherited or purchased long ago. Most of the land in Byeongsan-ri, Gangsaeng-myeon, was known at the time of the president's asset disclosure and was inherited by Kim after her father passed away in 1987. Other lands were reportedly purchased under the name of Kim's family company between 2016 and 2019. Additionally, most of the land across the river in Yangpyeong-eup was purchased by Kim's mother, Choi Eun-soon, between 2005 and 2007.

Earlier, Democratic Party lawmaker Han Jun-ho raised suspicions about the land in Byeongsan-ri, Gangsaeng-myeon, during last year's national audit. Han pointed out that the official land price for plot 1002-21 in Byeongsan-ri rose 56 times from 4,790 won in 2003 to 268,700 won in 2020 due to administrative procedures such as land use change. He said, "I think there was preferential treatment by Yangpyeong-gun during the land use change." At the time, the presidential office rebutted, saying, "They are using the national audit to launch negative attacks during the presidential election," and clarified, "It is completely groundless, and the inheritance of the ancestral burial site and the land use changes for its management were all conducted legally, with no preferential treatment."

The ruling party instead pointed to the "Democratic Party Yangpyeong County Mayor Gate," criticizing former Yangpyeong County Mayor Jeong Dong-gyun of the Democratic Party for purchasing land. They also raised issues that former Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum and former Blue House Chief of Staff Yoo Young-min own land near the original route.

Secretary-General Lee Cheol-gyu, during a meeting with reporters while visiting the U.S., claimed, "At the time, former Mayor Jeong said he would 'petition the central government to reflect the route change to Gangsaeng-myeon.' He even said, 'My wife is a senior-junior to Kim Jung-sook, the wife of then-President Moon Jae-in, so it is possible to get it reflected.'" Lee is a former police officer who served as the chief of Yangpyeong Police Station during his career.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

② What happened during the terminus route change?

The Democratic Party has consistently raised procedural issues, saying, "The terminus changed during the recent environmental impact assessment after passing the preliminary feasibility study by the Ministry of Economy and Finance." They point out that the highway route differs by more than 50% compared to the original plan when the feasibility study was passed.

This highway project is one of the cases where the terminus route changed after passing the feasibility study. After passing the feasibility study in 2021, discussions about the terminus change arose during the feasibility investigation process in March last year. In July of the same year, Yangpyeong-gun proposed the changed route as one alternative where Gangha IC could be installed, leading to the review of the route change. According to the Ministry of Land, since the introduction of the feasibility study system in 1999, there have been 14 cases where the terminus changed after completing the feasibility study.

The Democratic Party suspects that the Ministry of Land pushed the change knowing that First Lady Kim's family land was near the changed terminus. However, Minister Won said on the 6th, "If I had known that Kim's land was there before this incident broke out, I would stake my ministerial position and political life." Deputy Minister Baek Won-guk also said at a briefing at the Government Complex Sejong on the 10th, "During the feasibility study stage, it is impossible to investigate landowners' distribution," adding, "It is only during the land compensation stage that the list of owners is identified, so it is impossible to know the facts at the current stage." He drew a clear line again against suspicions that the Ministry intervened in the route change.

Park Kwang-on, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the launch ceremony and first meeting of the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway Original Plan and New Yangpyeong IC Installation Promotion Committee held at the National Assembly on the 11th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

③ Did the land price actually rise significantly?

The core of the preferential treatment suspicion is whether the land price rose. The ruling party argued that Kim's family land is located at a JC/JCT (junction) where two highways intersect, not at an IC (interchange) connecting general roads and highways, so they cannot gain significant economic benefits. They explained that since general road access is impossible at a JC, it does not affect land price increases. Kim Jeong-jae, the ruling party's secretary of the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, said on YTN Radio on the 11th, "The area near Gangsaeng-myeon where Kim's land is located is a JCT, not an IC," adding, "Due to noise and exhaust fumes, it is considered an undesirable facility, and land prices tend to fall."

On the other hand, the Democratic Party believes that an IC located 500 meters from Kim's family land will influence land price increases. There are also rumors that a rest area is being developed nearby. Choi Jae-gwan, head of the Democratic Party's Seoul-Yangpyeong Highway Preferential Treatment Investigation Task Force and Democratic Party Yeoju-Yangpyeong regional committee chairman, rebutted, "The junction is 500 meters away from Kim Geon-hee's family land, and it is nonsense to say the price did not rise just because of dust. You can tell just by looking at the map."

Additionally, the Democratic Party plans to continue raising suspicions, believing there is a collusion relationship between former lawmaker Kim Seon-kyo, who was elected to the 21st National Assembly as a former Yangpyeong County mayor but lost his seat, and Kim's family. In 2012, when Kim was serving as county mayor, Yangpyeong-gun granted a development plan approval for the Gongheung district to Kim's mother, Choi Eun-soon.

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