[Hong Ji-seon Nominated as Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Candidate] 28-Year 'Gyeonggi Province Man'...Will He Resolve Long-Standing Wishes Like Gyeonggi International Airport and Metropolitan Railways?

[News S=Reporter Jeon Shi-eon] With Hong Ji-seon, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, who has handled road, railway, urban and housing policies in Gyeonggi Province for 28 years, being nominated as a candidate for Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, expectations are growing for resolving major long-standing projects in Gyeonggi Province.

President Lee Jae-myung nominated Vice Minister Hong as a candidate for Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 30th.

Candidate Hong entered public service in 1996 through the second examination of the National Civil Service Examination and has worked in Gyeonggi Province for 28 years. She served as Director of Road Policy, Director of Construction, Director of Railways, Director of Railways and Ports and Logistics, and from 2020 to 2023 served as Director of Urban Housing.

When President Lee served as Governor of Gyeonggi Province, she worked as Director of Railways and Ports and Logistics and Director of Urban Housing. During her tenure as Director of Urban Housing, she oversaw Gyeonggi Province's housing supply and urban planning, including basic housing.

After being promoted to Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in December of last year, she has overseen national transportation policies including aviation, roads, and railways. The presidential office cited her experience from policy design to field implementation in roads, railways, and construction as a "field-oriented bureaucrat" as the background for her selection.

The most immediate concern for Gyeonggi Province is Gyeonggi International Airport.

Gyeonggi International Airport is not a new task for Candidate Hong. In 2022, when she was Director of Urban Housing in Gyeonggi Province, she took charge of a related task force and oversaw the construction of an international airport in southern Gyeonggi and development plans for surrounding areas.

At that time, Candidate Hong explained the policy direction during an administrative inquiry by the Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly to the effect that the construction of an international airport in southern Gyeonggi had become a larger task than the relocation of the military airport itself. She also presented a comprehensive spatial development plan linking private airports, SOC, support facilities, and logistics complexes.

Just four years ago, the person who was the operational person in charge of promoting Gyeonggi International Airport has now become a candidate for Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport who oversees national airport policy.

Expectations are growing even more as the relocation of Gwangju Military Airport recently accelerated under government leadership. The Gwangju Military Airport, which had long been stalled, picked up speed following coordination across the government after the Lee Jae-myung administration's launch, and on the 28th, an area in Mangun-myeon, Mu-an County was confirmed as a relocation candidate site.

On the other hand, Gyeonggi International Airport, linked with the relocation of Suwon Military Airport, still has many hurdles to overcome.

Immediately, the first hurdle is whether Gyeonggi International Airport will be reflected in the 7th Comprehensive Airport Development Plan established by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Afterwards, procedures for military airport relocation and coordination of interests between local governments also need to be resolved.

In the railway sector, she also has experience dealing with long-standing projects in Gyeonggi Province.

A representative example is the Shinbundang Line Gwanggyo~Homaesil extension.

This project, which had long been stalled since the basic plan was announced in 2006, found a breakthrough during the period when Candidate Hong served as Director of Railways and Director of Railways and Ports and Logistics in Gyeonggi Province.

In 2019, Gyeonggi Province recommended an exemption from preliminary feasibility study to the government, and then persuaded the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Ministry of Economy and Finance about the necessity of the project. Although not included in the preliminary feasibility study exemption, she continued coordination with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Suwon City, and passed the preliminary feasibility study in January 2020.

Before Candidate Hong are Gyeonggi Province issues no less pressing than those at that time.

In Suwon, major railway projects are underway including GTX-C, Shinbundang Line Gwanggyo~Homaesil extension, Dongtan Indeokwon Line, and Suwon-originated KTX. There is also interest in whether the metropolitan railway of southern Gyeonggi, requested by Suwon, Yongin, and Seongnam, will be reflected in the national railway network construction plan.

In the semiconductor industrial belt connecting Yongin, Hwaseong, and Pyeongtaek, the challenge is expanding metropolitan transportation networks to accommodate industrial zone expansion. In Osan and Pyeongtaek, demands continue for railroad network expansion including GTX and Bundang Line extensions and Shinansan Line extensions.

Some of these are issues Candidate Hong has already encountered as Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Osan City has proposed to Candidate Hong the Bundang Line Giheung~Osan extension, GTX-C Osan extension, and Suwon-originated KTX Osan Station stop, while Pyeongtaek City has proposed GTX-A and C extensions and Shinansan Line Anjung extension.

This is also why Candidate Hong's 28-year career in Gyeonggi Province is drawing attention.

She directly handled the promotion system for Gyeonggi International Airport, and as a railway policy director, she participated in the process of overcoming government hurdles for the Shinbundang Line Gwanggyo~Homaesil extension. After moving to Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, she also received new transportation issues from local governments within the province.

Candidate Hong, who as a former Gyeonggi Province civil servant persuaded the central government, now stands in a position to oversee national land and transportation policies.

There is keen interest in whether Candidate Hong, who is well-versed in local affairs, can make a breakthrough in the long-standing issues of southern Gyeonggi Province, such as Gyeonggi International Airport and metropolitan railways, upon assuming the position of Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

A regional political figure said, "Following the president who led Gyeonggi Provincial government, a person who directly dealt with regional issues in Gyeonggi Province for 28 years has been nominated as a minister candidate to oversee land and transportation policy, so the power to elevate Gyeonggi Province's long-standing projects to national policy has become stronger than ever. Since most of the long-standing wishes in the province, including Gyeonggi International Airport and metropolitan railways, are familiar issues to Candidate Hong, there is great expectation that this time it could lead to substantial progress," and added, "There is also anticipation that this could bring tangible results this time."

전시언 기자 yourside@news-s.kr