Yangpyeong expressway, stalled for three years over Kim Keon Hee favoritism allegations, draws fresh controversy over county’s own study

The Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway is moving toward revival, but Yangpyeong County has opened a new controversy by proposing its own feasibility study for the project. The county submitted a supplementary budget that includes 50 million won for the work, which it says will identify the best route for local conditions and present it to the Transport Ministry.

The proposal follows the launch in July of a county task force led by the deputy county head. The Transport Ministry selected a contractor for its feasibility study in August and has already begun the process. Yangpyeong County plans to commission a specialist institution once its budget procedure is complete.

The county is expected to use the study to examine the need for an interchange within Yangpyeong. The original route, which passed the finance ministry’s preliminary feasibility review and ended in Yangseo-myeon, does not include a local interchange, according to the report.

Critics say the county’s move amounts to wasteful administration and an attempt to avoid responsibility. The controversy began in 2023 under the Yoon Suk Yeol government, when the Transport Ministry proposed an alternative ending in Gangsang-myeon, where land owned by Kim Keon Hee’s family was concentrated. The route change prompted allegations of preferential treatment. Instead of seeking objective verification, Yangpyeong County and County Mayor Jeon Jin-seon supported the alternative and presented two additional routes to the ministry, including the disputed Gangsang-myeon option.

County councilor Kwon Su-yeon of the Democratic Party criticized the county for invoking “objective data” only after the change in government. She said the move was merely an attempt to create a justification for the three-year delay caused by partisan conduct. With President Lee Jae-myung ordering the project’s restart, the ministry’s study already includes a process for gathering local-government views. Even some People Power Party councilors reportedly questioned the need for Yangpyeong to spend additional public money on a separate study.

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Objective data