Local governments have submitted about 300 rail projects worth roughly 600 trillion won for inclusion in the Fifth National Railway Network Plan covering 2026 to 2035. The government is expected to have room for no more than about 40 trillion won in additional projects, leaving a wide gap between regional requests and available funding.
At a November 13 consultation hosted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, both metropolitan and non-metropolitan governments argued they had been overlooked, while critics warned that simply distributing limited funds could weaken the plan’s goal of balanced regional development.