Yoo Jeong-hoon takes helm at Korea Expressway Corp., starts first day at highway rest stop

Korea Expressway Corp. announced Thursday that Yoo Jeong-hoon has officially taken office as its 20th president.

Before his formal inauguration ceremony, Yoo began his first day in the field Thursday morning, visiting the Yeoju rest stop on the Yeongdong Expressway (Incheon-bound) as his first stop. After receiving a briefing on pressing issues — including the recently controversial food prices at highway rest stops — he said he was firmly committed to overhauling the rest stops' entrenched structural problems.

"I take very seriously the structural issues, including the multilevel operating structure that drives up commission fees for tenant businesses and the operation of rest stops by 'Doseong-hoe,' a retiree association of Korea Expressway Corp.," Yoo said. "Restoring public trust through swift and decisive reform of the system is the most urgent priority."

After completing his field inspection, Yoo visited a memorial tower for employees killed in the line of duty at the Icheon rest stop on the Jungbu Expressway (Hanam-bound), then attended his inauguration ceremony at the corporation's headquarters in Gimcheon.

In his inaugural address, Yoo laid out four key priorities: rebuilding public trust, transforming the corporation into a future mobility platform company, strengthening the expressway network as an artery for balanced national development and logistics safety, and establishing a culture of fairness and mutual growth.

Central to his vision is a plan to transform highway rest stops into multipurpose, mixed-use spaces integrating public transit connections, future mobility platforms, and cultural and leisure offerings. Alongside this, he declared the corporation's intention to become an "AI mobility infrastructure and service convergence platform company" — leveraging the national expressway network as a power transmission grid and high-capacity data cable network to address the electricity supply and high-speed communications challenges posed by AI data centers, a national priority.

Yoo also unveiled plans for balanced regional development and safety and logistics innovation. To overcome the dominance of the Greater Seoul metropolitan area, the corporation will strengthen its role as the main artery connecting five major regional hubs and three special zones across the country, and will push ahead with a pilot project for autonomous driving truck-only lanes during late-night hours. The corporation also plans to build a smart safety traffic system, including granting on-site control authority to safety patrol officers. On personnel matters, he added that the corporation would eliminate outdated practices such as favoritism based on academic or regional ties and establish a transparent system.

Meanwhile, Yoo is a leading expert in transportation and infrastructure. He served as a professor in the Department of Transportation Systems Engineering at Ajou University and has held positions including president of the Korean Society of Transportation and member of the Metropolitan Area Transportation Commission under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Industry observers expect his expertise to accelerate Korea Expressway Corp.'s mobility innovation.