Is Gwangju Subway Sangmu Station to be Renamed 'Sang Roh Moo-hyun Station'?

Poor Management of Subway Station Signage by Transportation Corporation Sparks Controversy
Kim Yong-im, Gwangju City Council Member, Says "Profit-Driven Approach Is Not Acceptable"

Kim Yong-im, Gwangju City Council member.

Gwangju Transportation Corporation's subway "station name co-signing" project, promoted as part of efforts to improve profitability, has been criticized for damaging the urban aesthetics due to poor management from the early stages of implementation.

On the 8th, Kim Yong-im, a member of the Gwangju City Council (People Power Party, proportional representation), pointed out during the administrative audit of Gwangju Transportation Corporation, "The 'station name co-signing' project, started by the Transportation Corporation to resolve deficits, has been poorly managed from the beginning," adding, "It is a natural consequence that the subway, a major project of Gwangju's Grand, Medium, and Small-scale projects, is being ignored by citizens."

The name of Gwangju Subway's 'Sangmu' Station has been left vandalized as 'Sangmunohyeon' Station.

Councilor Kim stated, "I received a report that since last month, graffiti reading 'No' and 'Hyun' appeared between the characters of the Sangmu Station name 'Sangmu' as 'Sang(No)mu(Hyun)'," and criticized, "This is a derogatory term against the late President Roh Moo-hyun. However, the Transportation Corporation was not even aware of this fact."

Gwangju Transportation Corporation promoted bidding for the 'station name co-signing' at five subway stations?Sangmu, Nongsong, Geumnamno 5-ga, Geumnamno 4-ga, and Namgwangju?out of 20 subway stations on July 20 this year. As a result, Sangmu Station was awarded a contract for 81.1 million KRW over three years, and in the second bidding held in November, Nongsong Station was awarded a contract for 59.8 million KRW over three years.

Councilor Kim emphasized, "Sangmu Station is a multi-use facility with an average daily ridership of about 7,700 as of June, but the graffiti is causing citizens to frown," adding, "Management should not be neglected in the rush to make money. Since it is operated with citizens' tax money, the corporation must fulfill its responsibility to serve and provide services to the public."

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