[National Audit] Kim Dong-yeon "Need to Make Ilsan Bridge Toll-Free Among 28 Han River Bridges"

Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon is responding to questions from lawmakers during the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee's audit of Gyeonggi Province held at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government on the 14th.

Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon expressed the view that the toll fees imposed on Ilsan Bridge should be abolished.

Earlier, on the 10th, the Supreme Court upheld the lower court's ruling in favor of the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by "Ilsan Bridge Co., Ltd." against Gyeonggi Province, seeking to cancel the designation of the project operator.

In 2021, Gyeonggi Province issued a public interest disposition to cancel the designation of the project operator for Ilsan Bridge in order to make the toll free, and from October 27 of that year, tolls on Ilsan Bridge were abolished. The public interest disposition is a system where local governments cancel the management and operation rights of private investors for public interest reasons and provide compensation.

On the 14th, Governor Kim Dong-yeon appeared at the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee's audit of Gyeonggi Province and refuted point by point the claims made by Lee Seong-gwon, a member of the People Power Party (Busan Saha-gu Gap), regarding the 'four major sins' of Representative Lee Jae-myung related to the toll-free policy on Ilsan Bridge.

First, regarding the claim that "the toll on Ilsan Bridge considered only a specific region without regard to the interests of the public," he stated, "It was said to be limited to local residents, but (Ilsan Bridge) has a huge volume of traffic," adding, "It is not used only by Gyeonggi residents. People come from Chungnam as well."

Regarding the criticism that "making the toll free could reduce the profitability of the National Pension Service and lead to pension depletion," he pointed out, "The biggest source of profit is asset management," and added, "In the National Pension Service's asset management portfolio, the toll revenue from Ilsan Bridge is just the tip of the iceberg."

In response to the claim that "the Gyeonggi Research Institute, a think tank of Gyeonggi Province, the legislature, media, and experts expressed concerns about the toll-free policy but it was pushed through," he said, "I understand that the previous governor went through consultations with the Gyeonggi Provincial Council and basic local governments," and added, "It is not necessary to strictly follow the research institute's analysis."

Finally, regarding the decision to make the toll free on the day Governor Lee Jae-myung resigned, he replied, "I speculate that it was done because of the importance of the matter and because it is one of the 28 Han River bridges used to travel to and from Seoul, and the only ones among them that charge tolls."

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