Super-Regional Transportation Strategy to Support the Five Mega-Regions and Three Special Self-Governing Provinces Policy to Be Drawn Up This Year; Metropolitan Area Wide-Area Transport Committee Launches Policy Forum

[Financial News] The government will draw up a super-regional transportation strategy by the end of this year to support its Five Mega-Regions and Three Special Self-Governing Provinces Policy for balanced national development.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s Metropolitan Area Wide-Area Transport Committee said on the 16th that it would establish a Super-Regional Transportation Policy Forum to systematically develop super-regional transportation policies linked to the Five Mega-Regions and Three Special Self-Governing Provinces Policy for balanced national development.
The forum was established to discuss with experts how to build a super-regional transportation system that connects movement between regions in response to the expansion of living, economic, and industrial zones, moving beyond the existing metropolitan-area-centered wide-area transportation system. Around 20 experts from universities and research institutes specializing in transportation, railways, roads, urban planning, regional development, and balanced development will participate.
The forum will broadly discuss such issues as analyzing transportation demand and travel patterns by super-regional area, directions for building a super-regional transportation network, funding and implementation systems, and measures to improve related laws and institutions. In particular, it will focus on developing transportation network plans that reflect the characteristics of each region and functional links between regions by connecting the Five Mega-Regions and Three Special Self-Governing Provinces Policy for balanced national development with super-regional transportation policy.
The forum will hold its kickoff meeting on the 29th, followed by a policy workshop once a month. Separate intensive advisory meetings will also be held as needed on key issues. After policy discussions and other events in December, the forum aims to announce the final super-regional transportation strategy by the end of this year.
Based on the forum’s findings, the Metropolitan Area Wide-Area Transport Committee plans to strengthen consultations with relevant ministries and local governments. It will also work with the Presidential Committee for the Era of Local Autonomy and the Office for Government Policy Coordination to develop a government-wide direction for super-regional transportation policy. In particular, it will link the regional issues identified by the Presidential Committee for the Era of Local Autonomy’s Expert Committee on Regional Public Transportation Networks with the Five Mega-Regions and Three Special Self-Governing Provinces regional development strategies currently being developed by local governments, aiming to produce policy outcomes that address actual regional transportation demand.
Kim Yong-seok, chairperson of the committee, said, "At a time when the major transformation of the Five Mega-Regions and Three Special Self-Governing Provinces national spatial structure is gaining momentum, a super-regional transportation network that enhances connectivity among super-regional areas is key infrastructure for strengthening regional economic and industrial competitiveness and driving balanced national development. We will actively gather diverse opinions from experts and develop transportation policies that guarantee people’s practical right to mobility and enhance the competitiveness of super-regional areas."

[email protected] Jung Kyung-soo Reporter