Jeong Jong-bok, Gijang County Governor, "KTX-Eum Stop Attraction" Is Not Over... Now Is a New Beginning!

by Jo Chunghyeon

Published 12 Dec.2024 17:28(KST)

Jeong Jong-bok, the mayor of Busan's Gijang County, expressed deep regret on the 12th over the exclusion of Gijang Station from the KTX-Eum (Cheongnyangni?Bujeon) pilot operation route.

Mayor Jeong stated, “Until now, we have devoted our best efforts to attracting the line, carrying the hopes of 176,000 Gijang residents, so the sense of loss and disappointment among the residents is very great.”

Jeong Jong-bok, Gijang County Governor.

However, Gijang County plans to intensify efforts to secure additional stops in the future, as the number of KTX-Eum train operations will increase and additional stops can be designated once the signal system upgrade for high-speed operation and additional vehicles are introduced by the end of next year.

Mayor Jeong showed strong determination, saying, “Our efforts to attract the KTX-Eum line are by no means over. From now on, we consider this a new beginning and will devote all our energy to securing a stop at Gijang Station.”

He added that although Gijang Station was excluded from this round of stop decisions, it remains the optimal location for a KTX-Eum stop, and that stopping at Gijang Station is not a choice but a necessity.

Mayor Jeong Jong-bok emphasized, “Gijang Station is located midway between Bujeon Station and Taehwagang Station, offering excellent accessibility from Busan and Ulsan. With the Osiria Tourism Complex, the largest in the southern region attracting 10 million visitors annually, the nation’s largest sports complex (including Baseball Theme Park, World Cup Village, etc.), the Gijang Heavy Ion Treatment Center?a hub for cancer treatment in southern Korea?and the only medical science convergence cluster in the country, large-scale transportation demand is expected in the future. Therefore, the justification for Gijang County’s bid is already sufficiently secured.”

He continued, “We will continuously propose the location and necessity of Gijang Station to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Korail, and strive to ensure that Gijang Station is definitely included in future train operation plans.”

So far, Gijang County has already entered the competition early compared to other local governments by completing a feasibility study in 2022 and directly submitting a petition with 141,000 signatures from residents across the county to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in 2023 to attract the KTX-Eum stop.

Additionally, ▲ Mayor of Gijang County expressing the necessity of attraction during meetings with the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Korail’s Customer Marketing Director ▲ relay campaigns by resident organizations in five towns and townships ▲ a letter-writing campaign supporting the attraction involving about 100 local daycare centers ▲ a county-wide attraction rally at the Jeonggwan-eup Residents’ Sports Festival ▲ relay urging for national institution attraction in the Southeast Medical Science Industrial Complex ▲ flash mob participation by Gijang County employees ▲ Gijang-eup residents’ urging rally ▲ attraction campaign by the Gijang County Women’s Association ▲ attraction performance by the Gijang County Volunteer Center ▲ attraction performance by the Gijang County Advisory Council of the National Unification Advisory Council ▲ and three rounds of county-wide general rallies, among various events involving all residents since March.

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