'Our neighborhood station'…Suwon divided over Gyeonggi Southern Metropolitan Railway

The Suwon area's political circles and residents, who have been making a unified call for reflecting the Gyeonggi Southern Metropolitan Railway in the national railway network, are now expressing differing views on the specific routes and station locations within Suwon itself, bringing inter-regional competition into the open.

While the Maetan area is requesting 'Shinmaetan Intersection Station,' which would encompass Samsung Electronics and the Yeongdong-gu Office area, the Gwonseon area is requesting 'Gwongok Intersection Station,' with arguments also emerging that routes must pass through Suwon City Hall Station and Maekyo Station.

According to Suwon City and others on the 29th, the Gyeonggi Southern Metropolitan Railway is a metropolitan railway project connecting approximately 50.7 kilometers from Jamsil Sports Complex in Seoul through Seongnam, Yongin, and Suwon to Bongdam in Hwaseong. In the preliminary feasibility study jointly pursued by four cities—Suwon, Seongnam, Yongin, and Hwaseong—the benefit-to-cost ratio (B/C) was analyzed at approximately 1.2.

The issue is the specific route to be laid in Suwon.

The Maetan area has requested a route extending southward from Gwanggyo through Woncheon and Maetan. Recently, the station location has also become more concrete.

Bae Ji-hwan, Suwon City Council member (People Power Party, A district), proposed the establishment of Shinmaetan Intersection Station in the Suwon section of the Gyeonggi Southern Metropolitan Railway at a policy seminar on Gyeonggi Southern Metropolitan traffic and urban development held in the National Assembly on the 18th, bolstering efforts to attract a station to the Maetan area.

City Council member Sa Jeong-hee (Democratic Party, A district) also proposed the establishment of 'Shinmaetan Intersection Station' as a stop in Suwon through a five-minute free speech at the city council on the 1st while urging the reflection of the Gyeonggi Southern Metropolitan Railway in the 5th National Railway Network Construction Plan.

The Maetan area cites approximately 80,000 residents in Maetan-dong, additional traffic demand to be generated in the Yeongdong area in the future, and the concentration of Samsung Electronics headquarters, Yeongdong-gu Office, Gyeonggi Arts Center, and Hyowon Park as grounds for station establishment.

The Gwonseon area is also making moves.

In the process of promoting the establishment of Gwongok Intersection Station, a petition signed by 13,932 residents was submitted to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport last year. Mun Byeong-geun, Gyeonggi Province Council member (People Power Party, Suwon City District 11), demanded at the Gyeonggi Province Rail, Port and Logistics Bureau administrative audit in November last year that Gyeonggi Province take active steps to ensure that the demand for Gwongok Intersection Station is reflected in the national railway network and the future route determination process.

Recently, an alternative plan connecting Suwon City Hall Station and Maekyo Station has emerged.

In June, a citizen proposal posted on the resident proposal bulletin board operated by the transition committee of Gyeonggi Governor Choo Mi-ae called for reflecting the 'Suwon City Hall Station~Maekyo Station transit option' in the Gyeonggi Southern Metropolitan Railway route.

Such regional interests were publicly revealed in the Suwon City Council plenary session.

At the second plenary session of the 404th extraordinary session held on the 11th, City Council member Lee Seung-hyeop (Democratic Party, D district) sponsored a 'Resolution urging reflection of the Gyeonggi Southern Metropolitan Railway in the 5th National Railway Network Construction Plan and prompt implementation.' City Council member Sa Jeong-hee of the same party, whose district is in the Maetan area, took part in the discussion.

Councilor Sa stated, "Local residents are currently quite sensitive about stations needing to be attracted to their own areas."

She added that "considerable sensitivity exists" regarding station establishment in the district of Councilor Lee as well, and noted that if a district councilor sponsors the resolution, misunderstandings could arise among residents. Councilor Lee's district is in the Paldalwon area.

Councilor Bae continued by explaining the fact that Mayor Lee Jae-jun had mentioned a route encompassing "Seryou, Gokson, Gwonseon, Maetan, and Samsung Electronics workers" when presenting a 2022 Seoul Subway Line 3 extension pledge, and his ongoing efforts to attract railway projects to the Maetan area.

The resolution was passed with the unanimous support of all 35 councilors present. Separate from the differing regional positions regarding station locations, it represented a shared commitment that the Gyeonggi Southern Metropolitan Railway itself should be reflected in the national railway network.

Gyeonggi Province is also demanding that the project be reflected in the government plan.

Gyeonggi Governor Choo Mi-ae met with Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Yoon-deok in July and requested the reflection of the Gyeonggi Southern Metropolitan Railway and 40 other railway projects within the province in the 5th National Railway Network Construction Plan. The Gyeonggi Southern Metropolitan Railway, having received the consent of over 10,000 people, became the subject of an official response to the first citizen petition of the 9th term of the local government.

As a result, a final all-out effort to reflect the project in the national railway network is underway, while simultaneously competition over 'which route to take and where to stop' among regions such as Maetan and Gwonseon, and areas around Suwon City Hall and Maekyo, is also heating up within Suwon.

The 5th National Railway Network Construction Plan will be finalized after public hearings, consultations with relevant agencies, and review by the Railway Industry Committee. The government is known to plan to hold public hearings between late September and October and announce the plan by year-end.

A city official stated, "Currently, what is important is reflecting the Gyeonggi Southern Metropolitan Railway in the national railway network, not discussions about routes or station locations and such—that comes later. We plan to focus only on attracting the Gyeonggi Southern Metropolitan Railway."