Over 20 experts in transport and urban planning to participate; monthly workshops to begin Sept. 29

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport building. [The Herald Business DB]
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport building. [The Herald Business DB]

The Metropolitan Area Transportation Commission under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced Thursday it will establish a "super-regional transport policy forum" with more than 20 experts to develop a transport policy framework aligned with the government's "5-pole, 3-special" national balanced development strategy.

The forum aims to go beyond the existing metropolitan-area-centered transit system and build a super-regional transport network that efficiently connects inter-regional movement in line with the expanding reach of lifestyle, economic and industrial zones. More than 20 academics and researchers from the fields of transport, rail, roads, urban planning, regional development and balanced development will serve as forum members.

The forum will analyze transport demand and travel patterns across super-regional zones from multiple angles and is expected to comprehensively discuss three areas: the direction of super-regional transport network development for each zone, financing and implementation frameworks, and improvements to relevant laws and regulations. It will focus particularly on designing a transport network that reflects each zone's characteristics and the functional linkages between regions, in alignment with the 5-pole, 3-special national balanced development strategy.

The forum will kick off with an inaugural meeting on Sept. 29, followed by monthly policy workshops, with ad hoc advisory sessions held as needed on major issues. A policy forum is planned for December, with a final strategy to be announced before the end of the year.

The commission said it will use the forum's findings as a basis for close cooperation with the Local Era Committee, the Office for Government Policy Coordination and local governments to flesh out a pan-government super-regional transport policy. It plans to coordinate with the Local Era Committee's expert panel on regional public transit networks and with each local government's "5-pole, 3-special regional development strategy" — due by December 2026 — to meet actual regional transport needs.

"At a time when the major transformation of the national spatial structure under the 5-pole, 3-special framework is getting fully under way, a super-regional transport network is the core infrastructure for boosting regional economic and industrial competitiveness and driving national balanced development," commission Chairman Kim Yong-seok said. "We will actively incorporate expert opinion to build a transport policy that guarantees the right to mobility for residents and strengthens the competitiveness of super-regional zones."

Meanwhile, the government plans to accelerate its regional balanced development strategy centered on the 5-pole, 3-special framework through a recently announced plan to relocate central government agencies and public institutions to the regions — following earlier moves involving businesses and universities — as part of its second round of central administrative agency and public institution relocation and functional reform initiatives.


hwshin@heraldcorp.com