YONGIN/HWASEONG — Yongin and Hwaseong, two special cities each with more than 1 million residents, agreed to work together on expanding the road and rail networks linking the semiconductor industry belt in southern Gyeonggi Province.
Yongin Mayor Lee Sang-il and Hwaseong Mayor Jung Myung-keun signed an agreement on cooperation for connecting transport networks and mutual growth at the Namsa library in Yongin's Namsa-eup, Cheoin-gu, on the 19th, after receiving a briefing on the linkage projects at the Dongtan 9-dong community service center in Hwaseong.
The agreement follows a joint declaration on connected transport and mutual growth that the two mayors announced on Nov. 21 last year. The two cities have since discussed new road construction and widening, rail expansion and project implementation methods through a working-level council.
The core project is a new road linking Sindong in Hwaseong's Dongtan with Wanjang-ri in Yongin's Namsa. The road will run about 3.6 kilometers with four lanes in both directions and will include tunnels and bridges. Total project costs are estimated at about 210 billion won ($150 million), with the two cities splitting the funding.
The cities began a preliminary feasibility study in February this year and in September commissioned a feasibility study from the Korea Research Institute for Local Administration, with Yongin serving as the lead agency. They plan to begin basic and detailed design work in 2028, targeting completion in 2032.
The new road is expected to improve traffic flow between Local Route 82 and Local Route 84. Hwaseong expects it to help ease congestion on Local Route 23 by dispersing wide-area traffic.
The two cities will also cooperate on the Local Route 82 and 84 projects already under way. Local Route 84 is a 6.4-kilometer, four-lane road linking Cheon-ri in Yongin's Idong-eup with Jung-ri in Hwaseong's Dongtan, targeted to open at the end of 2028. Work on the 4.2-kilometer Yongin section is more than 85% complete.
Local Route 82 covers a 5.1-kilometer stretch running from Songjeon-ri in Yongin's Idong-eup through Chang-ri in Namsa-eup to Jangji in Hwaseong. New construction and widening are being pursued as part of a transport project linked to the national industrial complex, and design work is under way. Compensation for land is expected to begin next year.
The two cities are also joining forces on rail. They will jointly pursue the southern Gyeonggi east-west line and the southern Gyeonggi metropolitan railway, aiming to have both reflected in the fifth national rail network plan.
The southern Gyeonggi east-west line is a roughly 89.4-kilometer route running from Jeongok Port in Hwaseong through Dongtan, Yongin's Idong and Namsa, and Wonsam-myeon to Bubal in Icheon. It is seen as a line that would connect the semiconductor industry ecosystem from east to west, supporting the movement of people and goods.
The southern Gyeonggi metropolitan railway is a roughly 50.7-kilometer route running from Sports Complex Station in Seoul through Suseo Station, Pangyo in Seongnam, Yongin's Sinbong and Seongbok, and Gwanggyo in Suwon to Bongdam in Hwaseong. It is regarded as key infrastructure for easing traffic pressure in the southern part of the greater Seoul area and expanding the base for the semiconductor industry.
"A national industrial complex for advanced system semiconductors is being built in Yongin's Idong and Namsa, and Hwaseong has Samsung Electronics production lines, so the two cities will become the central cities of South Korea's semiconductor industry," Lee said. "Expanding connected transport networks is an essential task for residents' convenience and mutual growth."
"Cooperating with Yongin to solve residents' transport problems is not a choice but a necessity," Jung said. "We will supply sufficient transport infrastructure to create an environment where residents can move around conveniently."