Oh Sehoon Announces Transportation Pledge: 20.8 Trillion Won to Connect Seoul’s Major Arteries

Dongbu Line from Ui to Jamsil

"Low Feasibility"

Sehoon Oh, the People Power Party candidate for Seoul mayor, announced the "Seoul Transportation Transformation" pledge on May 10, which aims to significantly expand transportation infrastructure to reduce commuting times and ease the financial burden of transportation costs.

At a press conference held at his campaign office in Gwancheol-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, Oh stated, "Building on the foundation of change laid during the 8th popular election, we will implement a major upgrade to complete Seoul as the world's top transportation city."

Seohun Oh, the People Power Party candidate for Seoul mayor, is announcing transportation pledges at the campaign office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 10th. Photo by Yonhap News

First, he announced that a total of 2.08 trillion won will be invested in the "Major Transportation Artery Connection" project, which includes the construction of the Gangbuk Transversal and Southern Circular Underground Urban Expressways, as well as the early completion of seven urban railway lines—Gangbuk Transversal Line, Myeonmok Line, Seobu Line, Mokdong Line, Nangok Line, extension of the Ui-Sinseol Line, and Dongbuk Line. The aim is to sequentially expand transportation infrastructure in the northeast, northwest, and southwest regions of Seoul by 2037.

Regarding funding, he explained, "When large-scale development projects are carried out in the Gangnam area, about 50% of the public contribution can be invested in the Gangbuk region as part of the 'Gangbuk Renaissance Fund.' This can also be sufficiently accommodated within the Seoul city budget."

To address congestion—lines that have been dubbed "hell trains" due to high crowding such as the Ui-Sinseol Line and subway Lines 9 and 2—he pledged to introduce Communication-Based Train Control (CBTC) technology to reduce train intervals to as little as 90 seconds and to introduce express buses on central bus-only lanes.

He also unveiled plans to upgrade the current Climate Companion Card to the "Seoul Climate Companion Pass," which would include a monthly subscription pass for the GTX-A line at a price of 62,000 won per month.

Oh criticized the pledge by Jeong Won-oh, the Democratic Party candidate for Seoul mayor, to establish a new Dongbu Line between Ui-dong in Gangbuk-gu and Jamsil-dong in Songpa-gu, stating, "The feasibility is low."

He commented, "(Candidate Jeong) took one of the routes that is still under review within the Seoul city government and turned it into a pledge. The benefit-cost analysis (B/C ratio) does not yield favorable results. Announcing a pledge with low feasibility could disappoint local residents. I will focus on finding routes that increase the probability of project success."

Regarding recent controversy over Jeong delegating pledge announcements to his aides, Oh remarked, "At the very least, I try to make the announcements myself. That is my duty to the citizens," adding, "It is not desirable for Candidate Jeong to rely on assistance and not make the announcements himself."

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