Gohung County Ushers in the '20-Minute Era' from Gohung-eup to Naro Space Center

Gohung County in South Jeolla Province announced that it is entering a full-scale phase of the “Gohung~Bongrae National Road Route 15 Four-Lane Expansion Project,” with preparations underway for the commencement of the basic and detailed design work.

This large-scale social infrastructure (SOC) project will expand the approximately 32-kilometer section from Hohyeong-ri in Gohung-eup to Yenae-ri (Naro Space Center) in Bongrae-myeon from the existing two lanes to four lanes. The total project cost is expected to be around 652.1 billion won.

Location map of National Road No. 15 four-lane expansion project from Goheung to Bongrae. Provided by Goheung County

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This section is a key road connecting the Naro Space Center and the National Industrial Complex for Space Launch Vehicles.

Initially, inclusion of this project was considered for the “6th National Road and National Support Road Construction Plan (2026-2030),” but due to continued proposals and consultations by Gohung County with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and other relevant agencies, it was incorporated into the revised announcement of the “5th National Road and National Support Road Construction Plan (2021-2025),” significantly accelerating the project timeline.

Accordingly, 8 billion won in national funding has been allocated for this year, and from 2026, the basic and detailed design work will proceed in earnest, with the aim of beginning construction in 2028.

The project section will include 21 bridges and 4 tunnels, and for efficient construction, it will be divided into Section 1 (Yenae-ri, Bongrae-myeon to Deokheung-ri, Dongil-myeon, 13.86 km) and Section 2 (Deokheung-ri, Dongil-myeon to Hohyeong-ri, Gohung-eup, 18.36 km).

Currently, in the vicinity of the Naro Space Center, the “Gohung Space Launch Vehicle Industry Cluster” is being established, including the National Industrial Complex for Space Launch Vehicles (exempted from the preliminary feasibility study), the Space Launch Vehicle Technology Commercialization Center, and a private exclusive space launch site.

Once the four-lane expansion of National Road Route 15 is completed, travel time from Gohung-eup to the Naro Space Center is expected to be dramatically reduced from the current approximately 60 minutes to about 20 minutes. This is anticipated to play a major role not only in improving the logistics and transportation system for the space launch vehicle industry, but also in attracting corporate investment and revitalizing tourism.

County Governor Gong Youngmin stated, “As we have managed to accelerate the project timeline through our county’s persistent proposals and consultations, we will do our utmost to ensure an early start of construction and smooth project execution so that this project can become a core transportation infrastructure opening the future of Gohung’s space and aviation industry.”

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