Hannam University has requested an official review of potential budget waste and procedural validity in the "Gyeongbu High-Speed Line Safety-Vulnerable Section Improvement Project (Daejeon North Connection Line)" being pursued by the Korea National Railway.
The university said Tuesday it has filed a report with the Budget Waste Report Center under the Ministry of Economy and Finance, pointing to suspicions of inefficiency and waste in the Korea National Railway's plan to invest 375.2 billion won ($260 million) to reduce travel time by approximately 108 seconds on the Gyeongbu High-Speed Line.
Hannam University also filed an information disclosure request with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), the supervising agency, regarding the contents of the preliminary feasibility study, and plans to file a public audit request with the Board of Audit and Inspection.
The Gyeongbu High-Speed Line Safety-Vulnerable Section (Daejeon North Connection Line) construction project is a large-scale undertaking that will invest 375.24 billion won through 2029 to improve the track alignment and reduce operating time along a 5.15-kilometer section (Sindae-dong to Ojeong-dong). As part of the project cuts through a section of the Hannam University campus, the university is opposing the construction, citing safety concerns and infringement on students' right to study.
Hannam University argued that since the basic plan for Gyeongbu high-speed rail construction (Phase 2) was announced in 2006, the project has repeatedly undergone suspensions, changes and redesigns of detailed plans over more than a decade, contrary to the original notice, creating potential for unnecessary waste of national budget including increased construction costs. The university noted that projects for which detailed design and contract signing had already been executed were halted and later followed by reviews of alternative routes and redesigns, with costs reinjected multiple times, raising the possibility that taxpayer money was spent inefficiently.
The university also raised questions about the validity of the project and the route selection process.
Hannam University said the general public cannot accept the feasibility of investing more than 375.2 billion won in taxpayer money to shorten high-speed rail operating time by only about 108 seconds.
Following a 2023 audit by the Board of Audit and Inspection, a route (via the Daejeon rail yard) that would allow safe operation of both the Honam Line and the Gyeongbu Line was proposed during the redesign stage. However, the final alternative route was pushed through as a plan that addresses only the Gyeongbu Line problem. In the process of changing the structure to exclude the Honam Line and upgrade only the Gyeongbu Line, the design was altered to cut through Hannam University, and the school raised questions about efficiency and the route selection process.
Hannam University strongly requested a review of the route, saying that the project intended to improve safety could instead cause safety problems such as the collapse of campus educational facilities and ground subsidence.
"The purpose of this project is to secure safety, but it could ultimately cause safety problems, and controversies are being raised in terms of efficiency and procedural legitimacy," a Hannam University official said. "An objective and fundamental review of the entire project is needed."
