NAMYANGJU — Choi Hyun-deok, mayor of Namyangju in Gyeonggi Province, formally asked the central government on the 27th to include a new Great Train eXpress (GTX) line in the country's fifth national railway network plan. The mayor also requested support from the "future response fund" to build a future growth hub in the northeastern part of the Seoul metropolitan area.
Choi delivered the requests at a national policy briefing and luncheon meeting for mayors, county governors and district heads held at the Government Complex Seoul and the guest house of Cheong Wa Dae, the city said on the 27th. He cited the two items as key tasks for securing future competitiveness and improving residents' quality of life.
He argued first that large-scale housing development is driving up transit demand in the northeastern part of the metropolitan area. A new GTX line must be written into the fifth national railway network plan, he said, to create a 30-minute commuting zone and a hyper-connected regional economic sphere.
On the future response fund, the mayor said the eligibility criteria need to be reconsidered. Rather than excluding areas across the board simply because they fall within the Seoul metropolitan area, he called for comprehensive consideration of constraints from years of overlapping regulations, along with industrial and fiscal conditions, demographic structure and growth potential.
He also requested national-level support for building an industrial ecosystem centered on the new town of Wangsuk. The plan calls for creating an ecosystem in advanced AI, semiconductors and bio industries and expanding future science and cultural infrastructure to strengthen the self-sufficiency of the northeastern metropolitan area. The goal is to secure sustainable new growth engines.
The first part of the event, the policy briefing, was hosted by the minister of the interior and safety. Participants shared the status of the government's policy agenda and plans for resident-centered local autonomy. The second part was chaired by President Lee Jae-myung, where heads of basic local governments from across the country discussed regional issues, policy tasks and ways to coordinate policy.
"Namyangju is laying new foundations for growth across transportation, industry, science and culture, with the goal of becoming a megacity of one million people," Choi said. "We will strengthen close policy coordination with the central government so that Namyangju's growth potential leads to balanced development in the northeastern part of the metropolitan area."
