"Joint Performance Wishing for Early Construction of North-South 9-Axis Expressway" Held in Yeongyang County

The North-South 9-Axis Expressway Promotion Council held a joint performance on October 15 at the Yeongyang Public Sports Complex, in conjunction with the 55th Yeongyang County Residents’ Sports Festival. The event brought together ten cities and counties from Gangwon and North Gyeongsang Provinces to wish for the early construction of the North-South 9-Axis Expressway.

Under the slogan "North-South 9-Axis, Connecting Together," delegations from the ten cities and counties in Gangwon and North Gyeongsang Provinces started simultaneously from opposite ends of the stadium. They converged at the unveiling stage in the center, where they jointly unveiled the sign for the "North-South 9-Axis Expressway."

The steps taken toward each other symbolized the long wait and the earnest hopes of the residents, all captured in a single scene. At the moment of unveiling, a clear message was delivered, promising a "life brought closer together" and emphasizing the importance of balanced national development.

This performance, held in front of an audience of over 10,000 county residents, vividly visualized the necessity and feasibility of the project in a language everyone could understand.

The previously dispersed steps from ten locations converged at the center, powerfully reinforcing the message that "the North-South 9-Axis will ultimately become a single road." The event concluded in an orderly manner, with enthusiastic support from the participants.

The North-South 9-Axis Expressway is a key national transportation corridor that will run through the interior of the country, connecting Yanggu in Gangwon Province to Yeongcheon in North Gyeongsang Province. It is regarded as essential infrastructure to address the structural disadvantages of the northeastern inland region caused by poor accessibility.

Since being reestablished as a national transportation corridor, expanding from the North-South 6-Axis to the 9-Axis in the "2nd National Road Network Comprehensive Plan" in September 2021, the ten cities and counties have continued follow-up procedures. These include the founding of the North-South 9-Axis Expressway Promotion Council in July 2023, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s preliminary feasibility study for the Gangwon Inland Expressway, and the initiation of an additional preliminary feasibility study for the North Gyeongsang region (Yeongcheon, Cheongsong, Yeongyang, Bonghwa).

Even before this, since 2020, the relevant cities and counties have held working-level meetings, adopted joint proposals, and conducted meetings with central government ministries, the National Assembly, and metropolitan governments. In 2024, they expanded public consensus through a petition for early construction signed by 15,134 people from the ten cities and counties, and through the Yeongyang Countywide Residents’ Resolution Rally, which drew 10,000 county residents.

The reason why these ten cities and counties are so desperate for the North-South 9-Axis Expressway is that "the gap in mobility has become a gap in quality of life." All ten cities and counties along the route are experiencing population decline, and the proportion of residents with expressway access within 30 minutes is among the lowest in the nation, at 40.8% for Gangwon and 75.0% for North Gyeongsang (2023, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport).

In particular, Yeongyang County is the only region in the country with "three transportation deficiencies" (no four-lane roads, no expressways, no railways). In addition, eight of the ten cities and counties, excluding Inje and Yanggu, have been designated as growth promotion areas, with many indicators of underdevelopment, requiring special consideration at the national level.

Despite these challenges, this corridor has great potential. It is expected to absorb tourism and exchange demand from 26 million people in the Seoul metropolitan area and 7.5 million in the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam region. It will also help reduce inland logistics costs for agricultural and forestry products and expand industrial linkages, thereby increasing the resident population and revitalizing the regional economy.

County Governor Oh Dochang stated, "The North-South 9-Axis Expressway is national infrastructure that connects the living zones, industrial zones, and emergency response lifelines of the ten cities and counties. Based on the solidarity shown today, we will take full responsibility to ensure that the North-South 9-Axis is included as a key project in the 3rd Expressway Construction Plan."

The North-South 9-Axis Expressway Promotion Council plans to further strengthen their solidarity by holding a "Joint Resolution Rally" in November and will continue discussions with relevant organizations to ensure inclusion in the 3rd Expressway Construction Plan.

North-South 9-Axis Expressway.

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