3 trillion won needed for inter-Korean rail link

Some 3.13 trillion won will be needed to reconnect four severed inter-Korean rail lines, the National Assembly budget authorities have estimated.

They also asserted that institutional devices such as the enactment of an inter-Korean road construction promotion law are necessary in order to secure land and other factors required for the railway linkage.

The assertion was included in materials on this year's parliamentary inspection of the administration issued on September 14.

The Assembly budget bureau said in the data that the estimated funds will be needed to restore the severed Gyeongui Railway, Gyeongwon Railway, Gumgangsan Railway and Donghaebukbu Railway, which cover a total of 299.2 kilometers.

The bureau said that the necessary funding should come from the unification fund, national tax, state bonds, foreign capital investment and private funds.

According to the bureau¡¯s estimate, 140 billion won will be required for the restoration of the Gyeongui Railway; 260 billion won for the Gyeongwon Railway, which covers 17.8 kilometers in the South and 14.8 kilometers in the North; 1.5 trillion won for the Donghaebukbu Railway, which spans 112 kilometers in the South and 18 kilometers in the North; and 1.23 trillion won for Gumgangsan Railway, which spans 32.5 kilometers in the South and 84.1 kilometers in the North.

Meanwhile, Hyundai Group has invested a total of $305,842,000, including $99,842,000 for facilities, in the promotion of Mt. Geumgang tourism projects from November 1998 to the end of last year. But its total income from the venture was $62,284,000, a loss of $243,558,000.

Moreover, of the $174 million that Hyundai Group paid to North Korea in return for its Mt. Geumgang tourism development project last year, a considerable portion may have been diverted to military expenses. Therefore, it is necessary for the Seoul government to take due measures to address this issue, the bureau pointed out.

Yoon Young-Chan yyc11@donga.com