South Gyeongsang Province, Ulsan join forces to build Southeast Circular Metro Rail

South Gyeongsang Province and Ulsan have joined forces to push for the opening of the Southeast Circular Metropolitan Railway, a line that would connect Jinyeong in South Gyeongsang Province to Eonyang in Ulsan.

On Wednesday, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province submitted a joint petition — signed by Ulsan Mayor Kim Sang-uk and South Gyeongsang Governor Park Wan-su — calling for approval of a preliminary feasibility study for the project. The petition was delivered to the presidential office, the Office of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Planning and Budget, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and the Korea Development Institute, the agency responsible for conducting the study, with a strong appeal for policy support.

The joint petition outlines three priorities: completing a broad industrial and logistics corridor by directly linking key industrial hubs — Changwon (defense and nuclear), Gimhae (smart logistics), Yangsan (parts and materials) and Ulsan (secondary batteries); building a one-hour commuter loop connecting Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province through seamless links with major transit nodes including KTX Ulsan Station and Gimhae; and urging the central government to make a decisive commitment to realizing a new era of regional development.

South Gyeongsang Province and Ulsan expressed strong resolve to build a "livable region" by expanding inter-regional transport links, establishing a broad commuter zone, integrating industrial and logistics networks, and advancing balanced national development.

The Southeast Circular Metropolitan Railway is a double-track electrified line stretching 54.6 kilometers, running from Jinyeong in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, through Mulgeum and Bukjeong in Yangsan to KTX Ulsan Station, with a top speed of 180 kilometers per hour. The two local governments are pursuing the project at a cost of 3 trillion won ($2.13 billion), targeting completion in 2036.

Once the line opens, it is expected to significantly improve public transit access for the 3.2 million residents of South Gyeongsang Province and 1.1 million Ulsan residents by tightly connecting major cities in the southeast through Ulsan's high-speed rail network, including the Ulsan-Yangsan-Busan metropolitan railway.

"To overcome the crisis of regional depopulation driven by population concentration in the Greater Seoul area and the outflow of young people, it is essential to build a dense metropolitan transport network connecting regional industries and living zones," South Gyeongsang Governor Park said. "This line will serve as a vital artery driving the completion of a super-regional economic zone in the southeast and advancing balanced national development."

Ulsan Mayor Kim also stressed his commitment to the project. "The Southeast Circular Metropolitan Railway must be built alongside the Ulsan-Yangsan-Busan Metropolitan Railway, which is currently in the basic planning stage, to complete the metropolitan transport network for Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province," he said. "Through solid cooperation with South Gyeongsang Province, we will make this a successful model for balanced national development."

Following the petition submission, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province plan to visit central government ministries this month to deliver a residents' petition signed by citizens of both jurisdictions, and to work toward ensuring that national balanced development and policy evaluation criteria carry significant weight in the preliminary feasibility study assessment.