Seongnam City Expresses Regret: "Korea National Railway Keeps Changing Its Responses on Structures for Dochon-Yatap Station"

Economic viability deemed essential, but now says "will proceed if costs are covered"
Seongnam City: "Explain the change in position and provide the legal basis"
Inconsistent administration fueling conflict among residents

Seongnam City, Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Shin Sang-jin), expressed regret, saying the Korea National Railway had changed its previous response regarding the installation of structures in preparation for the provisionally named Dochon-Yatap Station on the Suseo-Gwangju double-track railway. The city said the railway authority's inconsistent guidance was increasing confusion among residents and called for clear grounds on the conditions for proceeding with the project and the allocation of costs.

A view of Seongnam City Hall. Photo courtesy of Seongnam City.

Since 2018, Seongnam City has asked the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to build a station near Dochon Intersection. After its request was not adopted, the city asked that related structures be included in the railway design so a station could be built in the future, on the condition that the city would cover the costs.

According to the city, in an official response in September 2024, the Korea National Railway said that installing structures for a future station would also constitute building a station. It therefore said the results of a feasibility study would need to show a benefit-cost ratio (B/C) of at least 1.0, and that the party responsible for the project would have to bear the costs.

A preliminary feasibility study conducted by the city subsequently found that the final B/C ratio for building Dochon-Yatap Station was 0.46. This was higher than the 0.38 recorded in an interim review last August, but still below the economic viability threshold of 1.0 set by the city.

The controversy arose recently after the railway authority presented different conditions for changing the tunnel structure at a residents' briefing and in a written response to a public inquiry.

According to Seongnam City, the railway authority said that building a station would require economic viability, but that it would proceed with changing the tunnel type from NATM to BOX if the city completed administrative procedures, including a central investment review, and pledged to cover all costs.

The city said this explanation conflicts with the railway authority's 2024 response, which stated that economic viability was also required to install structures for a future station. The city said the guidance could make it seem that the project could proceed solely on the basis of the city's pledge to cover the costs, even without economic viability, and that delays could therefore be perceived as resulting from a lack of commitment by the city.

The city estimates that installing the structures would cost at least 20 billion to 30 billion won. It said it had expressed its willingness to cover the costs from the outset, but emphasized that the legal and administrative grounds for proceeding with the project must be clear before public funds are actually committed.

Seongnam City said it had formally asked the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and the Korea National Railway about why the railway authority's response had changed, whether the project could proceed, and the grounds for assigning the costs, but had yet to receive a clear answer.

A Seongnam City official said, "We have stated our willingness to cover the costs of installing structures for a future station. We deeply regret that inconsistent responses are increasing confusion and conflict among residents."

The official added, "We need an accountable response on the legal and administrative feasibility of proceeding with the project. We will focus the city's resources on developing practical transportation improvements that can be implemented as soon as possible."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.