Jeonnam Provincial Assembly Member Park Won-jong Urges Inclusion in National Railroad Network Construction Plan

Park Won-jong, a member of the Jeonnam Provincial Assembly (Democratic Party of Korea·Yeonggwang 1), announced on the 20th during the 378th extraordinary session plenary meeting that he urged the inclusion of the "Gunsan-Mokpo West Coast Railroad in the 5th National Railroad Network Construction Plan."

Park Won-jong, Jeonnam Provincial Assembly Member

Assemblyman Park stated, "The government of the Republic of Korea is implementing various policies for balanced national development under the current national agenda of 'A Local Era Where It Is Good to Live Anywhere in Korea,' but the West Coast Railroad project has been repeatedly excluded from the national railroad network plans for over 20 years due to reasons such as feasibility."

He continued, "The East and West Coast regions have very low accessibility to public transportation, making it difficult to secure opportunities for regional development. While the East Coast railroad construction is nearing completion and is expected to enable travel from Gangneung to Busan by the end of this year, the West Coast railroad is currently disconnected after connecting the metropolitan area to Janghak, Chungnam," he added.

Furthermore, he said, "If the Gunsan-Mokpo West Coast Railroad is constructed, the expected benefits of the Seohae Line and the Sinansan Line can be expanded throughout the entire West Coast. It will also create significant synergy effects for future national industries in the West Coast area, such as the development of the Southwest Coast tourism district, Saemangeum development, activation of Muan International Airport, establishment of renewable energy industrial complexes, and relocation of public institutions."

He also argued, "Although it was initially listed as a project for additional review in the 1st National Railroad Network Construction Plan, it was not included in the 2nd and 3rd plans. Given the social and geographical conditions, the railroad transportation system is necessary, as evidenced by its inclusion as a project for additional review in the 4th plan."

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