S. KOREA: Skepticism Lingers Over Honam KTX Line

12-06-2009 18:55

Skepticism Lingers Over Honam KTX Line

By Do Je-hae
Staff Reporter

Almost 20 years after the initial idea was conceived, construction of a high-speed railway stretching 182 kilometers from Osong in North Chungcheong Province to Gwangju finally kicked off last week at the Gwangju-Songjeong Station.

A KTX route linking two of the nation's most underdeveloped regions, Chungcheong and South Jeolla provinces, has been a longtime wish for many residents in the area as well as politicians and business people. When completed in 2014, it will take 90 minutes to ride from Seoul to Gwangju.

Service on the new Honam KTX line is slated for 2014, according to President Lee Myung-bak, who delivered a congratulatory message at the groundbreaking ceremony held Friday.

However, some question the feasibility of the plan. After all, Lee said that he would complete the Honam KTX by 2012 on repeated occasions as a presidential candidate. The launch of the Gyeonbu KTX line, which connects Seoul with Busan, was delayed for six years before it finally opened in April 2004.

During a rare visit to the Jeolla Provinces Friday, often called Honam, he promised his support for the smooth completion of the project by 2014.

"The completion of the Honam KTX is one of my presidential campaign pledges. Depending on budgetary capacity, we will complete it as soon as possible," Lee said during the ceremony. "The construction of the Honam high-speed railway will not only help develop regional industries, but also promote balanced national growth."

President Lee has been criticized for lacking the willingness and attention - compared with some former presidents such as Roh Moo-hyun - to achieve the balanced growth of all provinces.

It was during Roh's presidency that the Honam KTX line got the attention the citizens of South Jeolla Province have long craved.

The Lee administration, on the other hand, has almost halved the 2010 budget for the project, from the initially planned sum of 480 billion won to 250 billion won.

The Ministry of Land, Maritime and Transport has turned a deaf ear to other plans necessary to maximize the effectiveness of the Honam KTX railway.

Some take these to be a sign that the government is not as devoted as it should be to what many consider an instrumental infrastructure to advance the regional economy.

The Honam region has been an industrial underdog for years, especially compared with the Gyeongsang, or Yeongnam, region.

Latest figures show that the Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) of Honam is 9.7 trillion won, whereas the Yeongnam region recorded 26.6 trillion won in GRDP in 2007.

"Construction of the Honam KTX line has long been delayed," Rep. Lee Yong-sup of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) said Friday.

"We urge the President to keep his word by pursuing the completion of the Honam KTX line during his term, by 2012."

Even after taking office, President Lee's Cabinet reiterated that the 2012 completion is valid during parliamentary hearings and in other official meetings.

The former construction and transportation minister also called for more state spending and planning, particularly regarding the second phase of the Honam KTX line from Mokpo to Gwangju.

Authorities still remain undecided about the date of completion and the particulars of the Mokpo-Gwangju route.

Another major concern for the region is linking the KTX Honam service with Muan International Airport, one of the airports in the southwestern region.

Many from the region are adamant that the Honam KTX trains must stop at Muan International Airport to attract more users from Chungcheong and North Jeolla provinces.

"To maximize the economic effect of the the Honam KTX, we believe it is vital that the trains must stop at the airport, but the government reaction has been lukewarm," Rep. Lee added.

South Jeolla Province has asked the government to take the request into account when finalizing the Gwangju-Mokpo route. However, the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritimes Affairs is against the idea, citing additional costs.

The Lee administration has been tepid about implementing the previous' government policy commitment on balanced regional development.

During a recent TV appearance, President Lee made it clear that he would alter the Sejong City project, a blueprint completed by the previous Roh administration to ultimately give Korea a separate administrative capital, called Sejong City, in Chungcheong Province.

Despite fervent opposition from residents, the administration has overturned the plan, possibly replacing it with the creation of an industrial belt.

Many are worried that similar projects for regional development - namely the establishment of 11 "Innovation Cities" nationwide by relocating public corporations from the capital region - will also be significantly deterred under Lee's leadership.

The forthcoming Honam KTX services are closely associated with the Gwangju-South Jeolla Innnovation City.

The idea for the Honam KTX was first conceived in 1990 by the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlement (KRIHS), which is affiliated with the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs.

Nine years later, another research arm of the ministry began to conduct a cost-benefit analysis.

Construction in Osong and Iksan, North Jeolla Province, began earlier this year. The construction of a 48-kilometer-long extended line linking Gwangju to the southern port city of Mokpo will begin next year.

jhdo@koreatimes.co.kr