Changwon Special City Delivers Petition with 210,000 Signatures for 'Dongdaegu-Changwon High-Speed Railway' to Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport

Changwon Lawmakers, Chamber of Commerce, and University Officials Accompany Acting Mayor
Emphasize the Need for the High-Speed Railway

On December 4, Jang Geumyong, Acting Mayor of Changwon Special City in Gyeongnam Province, met with Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Yoonduk and personally delivered a petition signed by over 210,000 people, urging the early inclusion of the 'Dongdaegu-Changwon-Gadeokdo New Airport High-Speed Railway' in government plans.

Changwon Special City Delivers 210,000-Signature Petition for 'Dongdaegu-Changwon High-Speed Railway' to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

Present at the meeting were Acting Mayor Jang Geumyong, National Assembly members Kim Jongyang, Heo Seongmu, Yoon Hanhong, and Lee Jonguk, Kim Eungsoo, Executive Vice Chairman of the Changwon Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Lee Dongchan, Director of Administration at Changwon National University.

They handed over a petition with the signatures of 213,933 Changwon citizens, reflecting their strong desire for the swift advancement of the 'Dongdaegu-Changwon High-Speed Railway,' to Minister Kim Yoonduk. They also requested the government's active support for the inclusion of the project in the '5th National Rail Network Construction Plan' and for efforts to close the transportation gap between regions.

Acting Mayor Jang emphasized, "Changwon Special City is a core industrial city leading South Korea, and will become a logistics industry hub centered on Jinhae New Port and Gadeokdo New Airport in the future." He stressed, "The Dongdaegu-Changwon-Gadeokdo New Airport High-Speed Railway must be included in the 5th National Rail Network Construction Plan."

The attending National Assembly members also spoke in unison, stating, "As the gap between the Seoul metropolitan area and non-metropolitan regions continues to widen, the swift advancement of the Dongdaegu-Changwon High-Speed Railway is essential for balanced national development." They explained, "This petition campaign is a direct result of citizens' aspirations."

To strengthen accessibility to the Seoul metropolitan area and establish a future growth foundation centered on Changwon-by connecting ports, airports, and railways into a Tri-port system-the city proposed a total of five railway projects to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in February 2024: the Dongdaegu-Changwon-Gadeokdo New Airport High-Speed Railway, the Hapcheon-Masan Line, the CTX-Changwon Line, the CTX-Masan Line, and the CTX-Jinhae Line.

Among these, the most critical project is the 'Dongdaegu-Changwon-Gadeokdo New Airport High-Speed Railway.' To urge its inclusion in the '5th National Rail Network Construction Plan,' a month-long petition campaign was launched starting October 17. Thanks to overwhelming citizen interest, a total of 213,933 people signed the petition, exceeding the original goal of 100,000 by 213%.

Acting Mayor Jang Geumyong stated, "Delivering the petition to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport today is not the end of the campaign, but the true beginning of efforts to make the 'Dongdaegu-Changwon High-Speed Railway' a reality." He added, "We will do our utmost to ensure it is included in the 5th National Rail Network Construction Plan and advanced as quickly as possible."

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