O Eon-seok, Dobong-gu Mayor, "Welcome Confirmation of GTX-C Dobong Section Undergrounding"

Published 22 May.2023 09:08(KST)

Dobongsan Station to Changdong Station 5.4 km Section Underground, 14 Minutes to Gangnam Upon Opening

Expectations Rise for Fulfillment of the Pledge with the ‘Dobong Section Underground Confirmation,’ a Key Promise of the 8th Elected Administration

Received Highest Grade (SA) in the ‘2023 Evaluation of Pledge Implementation Plans by Nationwide Basic Local Governments of the 8th Elected Administration’

On the 10th, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced the confirmation of the underground construction for the Dobong section of the metropolitan area express railroad GTX-C line.

Oh Eon-seok, Mayor of Dobong-gu, expressed in an interview, “This is joyful news that alleviates the concerns of 310,000 Dobong residents who have worried about numerous damages such as dust, noise, and vibration caused by the aboveground GTX-C,” and welcomed the announcement by stating, “The travel time from Changdong Station to Samseong Station, which currently takes over 50 minutes, will be drastically reduced to 14 minutes upon opening.”

The GTX-C line is a national railway network connecting Deokjeong Station in Yangju-si, Gyeonggi-do, to Suwon Station in Suwon-si, originally planned to construct the entire 37.7 km section, including the 5.4 km Dobong section, as an underground tunnel.

However, in December 2020, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport changed the official notice for private operators, designating the underground tunnel construction section as the ‘Government Gwacheon Office Station to Changdong Station’ section, suddenly excluding the Dobong section. Private operators interpreted this as a change in the project plan by the Ministry and submitted project proposals to share the existing aboveground Gyeongwon Line for the Dobong section, which sparked strong opposition from residents.

Following the public audit results by the Board of Audit and Inspection in November 2022 and the eligibility investigation conducted by the Korea Development Institute (KDI), which judged both underground and aboveground options as eligible, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport made a final decision to revert to underground construction after more than two years.

Since taking office last year, Mayor Oh has repeatedly visited the Presidential Office, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and Seoul City, insisting that “to restore trust in government policy, eliminate transportation discrimination against outer areas, and consider the damages to Dobong residents, the Dobong section must be underground as originally planned.”

Accordingly, Mayor Oh stated, “The announcement of the underground confirmation for the Dobong section of the GTX-C line is the fruit of efforts made by the government, Dobong-gu, and 310,000 Dobong residents working together on the ground,” adding, “The district will support administrative procedures as quickly as possible, expecting construction to start by the end of this year and the line to open in 2028.”

O Eon-seok, Dobong-gu Mayor, "Welcome Confirmation of GTX-C Dobong Section Undergrounding"

This confirmation of the GTX-C line underground construction is one of the key pledges of Mayor Oh Eon-seok’s 8th elected administration, and with this major pledge showing tangible results within a year of taking office, residents’ expectations for the implementation of other pledges are also growing.

Major pledge projects of Dobong-gu’s 8th elected administration include not only the promotion of full underground construction of the GTX-C Dobong section but also ▲ active support for revitalization such as reconstruction and redevelopment ▲ fostering balanced regional development through easing height restrictions zones ▲ establishing mid- to long-term development plans to revitalize Dobongsan tourism.

The 8th elected administration’s pledge projects in Dobong-gu, consisting of 53 projects across five policy goals, are progressing smoothly, and reflecting these results, the district recently received the highest grade (SA) in the ‘2023 Evaluation of Pledge Implementation Plans by Nationwide Basic Local Governments of the 8th Elected Administration’ hosted by the Korea Manifesto Practice Headquarters.

Regarding the pledge to ‘actively support revitalization such as reconstruction and redevelopment,’ Mayor Oh said, “We conduct quarterly ‘Visiting Maintenance Project Resident Schools’ and ‘Resident Briefings’ to educate on maintenance project procedures. Currently, various maintenance projects related to reconstruction and redevelopment, such as urban public complex projects, Moa Town, rapid integrated planning, and passing reconstruction safety inspections, are actively underway, and we plan to support them as much as possible to ensure rapid progress.”

Regarding ‘fostering balanced regional development through easing height restriction zones,’ he mentioned that since last year, Dobong-gu has repeatedly proposed rational management plans for height restriction zones to Seoul City and is positively anticipating Seoul City’s announcement of easing measures within the first half of this year.

Additionally, to revitalize Dobong-gu’s tourism industry in the long term, a service is underway to establish a ‘Mid- to Long-Term Development Plan for Dobongsan Tourism Promotion.’ The core content is to develop tourism infrastructure facilities such as cable cars centered on Dobongsan, a world-renowned mountain attracting about 6.7 million visitors, and to secure tourism competitiveness linked with the Peace Culture Base, Seoul Arena Performance Hall, Robot Science Museum, Photography Museum, etc., aiming to designate the area as a tourism special zone.

Regarding this Dobongsan development plan, a feasibility study kickoff meeting was held last April, and after reviewing various aspects such as business feasibility, implementation methods, and environmental impact assessments, results are expected around the end of October.

Mayor Oh Eon-seok stated, “Fulfilling pledges made to Dobong residents is a matter of trust and belief. We will speedily promote key projects for pledge implementation and achieve tangible results that residents can feel, making Dobong the top cultural and economic city in the northeastern part of Seoul.”