Gijang-gun, KTX-Eum Stops at Gijang-gun... Final Appeal Reflecting the Wishes of All Residents

On the 15th at Donghae Line Gijang Station, Joint Statement Released by Member of National Assembly, County Governor, and County Council Chairman

On the 15th, Busan’s Gijang County expressed its earnest desire to attract the KTX-Eum stop by announcing a joint statement titled ‘Joint Declaration for Attracting the KTX-Eum Stop Station to Gijang’ at Gijang Station on the Donghae Line, with County Governor Jeong Jong-bok, National Assembly member Jeong Dong-man, and County Council Chairman Park Hong-bok.

This joint statement was promoted to raise the atmosphere for attracting the KTX-Eum stop station to its peak and to appeal the wishes and aspirations of all citizens. It was held as the final large-scale event following two county-wide rallies held last month.

The announcement was made in the order of National Assembly member Jeong Dong-man, Gijang County Council Chairman Park Hong-bok, and County Governor Jeong Jong-bok. The speakers unanimously emphasized the justification and necessity of the KTX-Eum stop at Gijang Station, insisting that the Eum station must stop at Gijang County.

At Gijang Station, a joint statement was announced by the Member of the National Assembly, the County Governor, and the Chairman of the County Council to attract the KTX-Eum stop. (From left: Jeong Dong-man, Member of the National Assembly; Jeong Jong-bok, Gijang County Governor; Park Hong-bok, Chairman of the Gijang County Council) Provided by Gijang County

Additionally, about 200 residents shouted slogans such as “The KTX-Eum stop station must be in Gijang!” and “The KTX-Eum stop station must definitely be in Gijang!” filling the Gijang Station plaza with the loud cheers of the citizens.

A resident who participated in the event said, “I hope the united voice of the residents for attracting the stop station reaches the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport until the very end, and that the day when we can take the KTX-Eum from Gijang Station to Seoul comes as soon as possible.”

Governor Jeong Jong-bok stated, “The justification for attracting the stop station to Gijang County has already been sufficiently secured, with the Southeast region’s largest Osiria Tourism Complex visited by over 10 million people annually, the Gijang Heavy Ion Therapy Center as a hub for cancer treatment in the southern region of Korea, and the establishment of the only Korean Baseball Museum in the country,” adding, “Gijang County, which is establishing itself as a cancer treatment hub in the southern region of Korea and a global complex tourism city, definitely needs the Eum stop station.”

Gijang County completed a feasibility study for attracting the KTX-Eum stop station in 2022 and entered the competition early compared to other local governments by directly delivering a petition with 141,000 signatures from citizens to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in 2023.

Since March, all citizens have been actively involved in attracting the stop station, with a relay of support messages from the entire county and stop station attraction performances involving residents from various sectors within the region continuing.

Jung Jong-bok, the mayor of Gijang-gun, is raising a slogan while announcing a joint statement to attract the KTX-Eum station. Photo by Gijang-gun

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