Construction of High-Speed Railroad In Ulsan Highly Likely

Making reference to a controversial issue over construction of a Gyeongbu High-speed Railroad station in Ulsan, Gyeongsang Province, President Roh Moo-hyun said on Wednesday, “There is nothing wrong for Ulsan which is home to 1.1million people and surrounded by various cities to host a high-speed railroad station.”

“It might be unfair to provide preferential treatment to my hometown when it comes to the construction of the high-speed railroad. The final decision on the issue it or not should be based on experts` opinions in terms of technical and economic validity,” the president told local journalists in Busan, Ulsan, and South Gyeongsang Province at Cheong Wa Dae.

The president also added, “The government has been pushing for the construction of the high-speed railroad to provide transportation convenience for the public. Therefore, such transportation convenience should be provided to 1.1 million residents in Ulsan.”

Although the government has yet to make a final decision on the issue, constructing a high-speed railroad station in Ulsan is highly likely as the government decided on Sept 19 to resume construction of railroads in Daegu, Gyeongju, and Busan as planned.

Meanwhile, opposition Grand National Party spokesman Park Jin said, “President Roh is making an attempt to utilize the high-speed railroad construction as a pet project to earn support from voters in South and North Gyeongsang areas in the upcoming general elections.”

Jeong-Hun Kim jnghn@donga.com