Guri City: "Cannot Agree to Godeok-Topyeong Bridge... Defending 'Guri Bridge'"

Multifaceted Efforts Including Reconsideration Request to Promote 'Guridaegyo' as a Standalone Place Name

The 33rd Han River crossing bridge located in the construction section of the Sejong-Pocheon Expressway.

Guri City, Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Baek Kyung-hyun) announced on the 8th that it cannot accept the decision to name the 33rd Han River crossing bridge in the construction section of the Sejong-Pocheon Expressway as ‘Godeok-Topyeong Bridge,’ as notified by the National Geographic Names Committee on the 4th.

According to a Guri City official, “At the first meeting on July 18, the National Geographic Names Committee postponed the naming decision and decided to exclude Guri Bridge and Godeok Bridge from the review, requesting a joint naming proposal from the two local governments (Guri City and Gangdong-gu). However, the two local governments failed to reach a joint naming agreement and proposed to include the names Guri Bridge and Godeok Bridge, which had been excluded from the review at the first committee meeting, for reconsideration. Nevertheless, the committee held a second meeting on October 2 without the attendance of the local governments and decided on the name ‘Godeok-Topyeong Bridge,’” the official stated.

Mayor Baek Kyung-hyun of Guri said, “Since Gangdong Bridge already exists on the Seoul Metropolitan Area 1st Ring Expressway, which opened in 1991, there should be fairness in selecting the bridge name. Also, most of the bridges on the two expressway routes’ start and end points and administrative districts belong to Guri City. For these reasons, despite the strong interest and expectations of 200,000 Guri citizens through a citywide signature campaign, resolution meetings, and street marches to name the bridge solely as Guri Bridge, the National Geographic Names Committee’s decision ignoring this is a result that is difficult to accept.”

Guri City stated that among the three bridges connecting to Gangdong-gu, none have been decided with a sole naming by Guri City, and therefore, even considering fairness, it cannot accept the dual naming. It is known that the city plans to use various methods, including requesting a re-examination according to the law, to firmly defend the sole naming of Guri Bridge and others.

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