Seo-Suwon Terminal Activation 'Passing the Buck'

Suwon City has revealed a passive stance toward activating Seo-Suwon Bus Terminal, citing operational interests by refusing to submit future implementation plans and functional classification plans to the province for the terminal's activation.

Regarding the project to separate and specialize the functions of Seo-Suwon Bus Terminal as an express bus terminal and Suwon Terminal as a general intercity bus terminal, City Council Member Lee Jong-pil from the Urban Construction Committee pointed this out during administrative audits on the 29th of last month.

Member Lee stated, "The province sent an official document on January 16 asking Suwon City to submit a future implementation plan for activating Seo-Suwon Bus Terminal, but Suwon City did not even submit materials in response," he criticized.

He continued, "Since Suwon City made no implementation plans, Daewoo Co., Ltd., which was the operator of Seo-Suwon Bus Terminal, submitted an activation plan to Suwon City on January 19. Based on this activation plan, Gyeonggi Province, Suwon City, and Daewoo Co., Ltd. reached an agreement on bus terminal functional classification in March," he said.

On March 24, Gyeonggi Province, Suwon City, and Daewoo Co., Ltd., the operator of Seo-Suwon Bus Terminal, agreed to develop Suwon Terminal as a general intercity bus terminal and Seo-Suwon as an express bus terminal, and drafted a transfer agreement.

However, despite this agreement, the functional classification of Seo-Suwon Bus Terminal has not been implemented to date.

In response, a city official stated, "Currently, the bus terminal business is a declining industry, and with tangled business interests such as profitability among terminal operators, it is difficult to proceed with the project."

Member Lee criticized, "Given the nature of bus terminals as public convenience facilities, the public interest should be prioritized, but the city is only thinking from the perspective of operators."

In relation to this, Choi Chul-gyu, director of the Construction and Transportation Bureau, responded, "It is true that functional separation is not easily achieved since the bus terminal business has been transferred to operators. We will devise countermeasures as soon as possible."