Yongin Mayor Lee Sang-il urges the government to include the Gyeonggi Southern Metropolitan Railway project in the fifth National Railway Network Construction Plan, calling it the wish of 4.2 million residents across four cities
Yongin Special City Mayor Lee Sang-il held a joint rally Thursday at Daejang Neighborhood Park in Seongnam's Daejang-dong alongside Seongnam Mayor Shin Sang-jin and representatives of civic groups from Yongin, Seongnam, Suwon and Hwaseong, urging the government to include the Gyeonggi Southern Metropolitan Railway project in the fifth National Railway Network Construction Plan. The absence of Suwon Mayor Lee Jae-jun and Hwaseong Mayor Jeong Myeong-geun — both members of the Democratic Party — drew considerable comment about political motivations. Still, Lee and Shin pressed ahead, consolidating the views of residents from all four cities in a joint demand for the plan's inclusion.
"I hope the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will pay close attention so that the wishes of 1.11 million Yongin residents and 4.2 million residents across the four cities can be realized," Lee said.
Lee said the four cities had been planning the new Gyeonggi Southern Metropolitan Railway line since the eighth term of elected local government and had continuously explained its necessity to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and other central government bodies to ease the traffic burden on residents. "Once the Gyeonggi Southern Metropolitan Railway — confirmed to have a strong cost-benefit ratio of 1.2 — is built, we expect it will go a long way toward resolving the chronic congestion on the Yongseogosokdoro expressway during rush hours," he said.
Lee also said that with transportation demand surging across the four major cities and the workforce in advanced industries such as semiconductors growing rapidly, "the sooner we build a metropolitan rail network connecting the four cities, the better." He added that Yongin Special City would continue working with Seongnam, Suwon and Hwaseong to have the project included in the fifth National Railway Network Construction Plan and would unite with the 4.2 million residents of the four cities in that effort.
The joint rally followed a request made by civic group representatives from the four cities, who met with Lee on Sept. 3 and asked the relevant local governments to redouble their efforts to bring the Gyeonggi Southern Metropolitan Railway to fruition.
At that meeting, Lee reached out to Shin to propose a joint statement, and Shin agreed, leading to Thursday's rally.
Lee and Shin signed a joint petition along with four representatives of the Gyeonggi Southern Metropolitan Railway Promotion Civic Alliance — covering Yongin, Seongnam, Suwon and Hwaseong — and residents from all four cities, formally calling for the project's inclusion in the fifth National Railway Network Construction Plan. The two mayors and the four civic alliance representatives plan to deliver the joint petition to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport this month.
In the petition, Lee and others described the Gyeonggi southern corridor — stretching from Pangyo in Seongnam through Yongin and Suwon to Hwaseong — as "a leading hub of advanced industry in South Korea and a region vital to the nation's future." They noted that jobs centered on advanced industries such as semiconductors and AI are growing rapidly in the area, as is the population.
"Yet the metropolitan transportation infrastructure connecting these areas is severely lacking, causing great inconvenience to residents of the four cities," the petition continued. "Expanding the metropolitan rail network is urgent to meet the rapidly growing transportation demand of these major cities. The Gyeonggi Southern Metropolitan Railway must be actively pursued as national strategic infrastructure underpinning the competitiveness of South Korea's future industries, including semiconductors."
Lee and the other signatories called on the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and relevant agencies to "actively consult with Yongin, Seongnam, Suwon and Hwaseong on including the Gyeonggi Southern Metropolitan Railway in the fifth National Railway Network Construction Plan and to take the necessary administrative steps."
The Gyeonggi Southern Metropolitan Railway, which Lee has championed since the eighth term of elected local government, is a proposed 50.7-kilometer new rail line running from Jamsil Sports Complex Station in Seoul through Suseo Station, Pangyo in Seongnam, the Sinbong and Seongbok neighborhoods of Yongin, Gwanggyo in Suwon, and on to Bondam in Hwaseong.
The project, which would establish 22 stations across the four cities, is estimated to cost 5.28 trillion won ($3.89 billion). A joint feasibility study by the four cities confirmed a cost-benefit ratio of 1.2, indicating strong economic viability.
Lee has been discussing the Gyeonggi Southern Metropolitan Railway as an alternative to extending Seoul Subway Line 3, in coordination with Seongnam, Suwon and Hwaseong, since October 2022, shortly after taking office in the eighth term of elected local government.
To advance the project, Lee met with the minister and vice minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport multiple times during his tenure, emphasizing the project's necessity and economic merits and requesting support.
In January, he visited Government Complex Sejong to meet with then-Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Yun-deok, handing over materials outlining key city priorities — including inclusion of the Gyeonggi Southern Metropolitan Railway in the fifth National Railway Network Construction Plan — and requesting the ministry's support and cooperation.
Ahead of a presidential policy briefing in August, Lee submitted materials to the government on Yongin's railway projects — including the Gyeonggi Southern Metropolitan Railway — and road network expansion plans, and stressed the need for the railway to be reflected in the fifth National Railway Network Construction Plan.
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