S. Korea to invest W28.9tr in infrastructure next year, boosting Sejong, GTX projects

The government has allocated 28.9 trillion won ($21 billion) in social overhead capital (SOC) spending for next year, a 1.2 trillion won increase from this year's 27.7 trillion won, as it seeks to promote balanced regional growth and ease commuting burdens in the greater Seoul area. The budget will fund expanded investment in the presidential office in Sejong, the National Assembly's Sejong building, the GTX-B rail line and an extension of Seoul subway Line 5 to Gimpo, along with 120 billion won for a fund to support overseas construction contracts.

The Ministry of Planning and Budget, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and other agencies released the 2027 budget proposal Tuesday, showing next year's SOC budget at 28.9 trillion won — a 4.3 percent increase from this year.

Investment in completing the administrative capital will rise sharply. The budget for constructing the presidential office in Sejong — targeted for move-in by 2029 — jumps to 205.7 billion won from 24 billion won this year, a 757 percent increase. Funding for the National Assembly's Sejong building, scheduled for completion in 2033, also rises 24.6 percent, from 95.6 billion won to 119.1 billion won.

The GTX-B, widely regarded as the most critical project for balanced growth in the greater Seoul area, will receive 366.2 billion won, up 18.3 percent from 309.5 billion won. The budget also sets aside 3.2 billion won in new funding to draw up a master plan for extending Seoul subway Line 5 to Gimpo, and adds 2.9 billion won to complete the KTX service originating from Suwon.

Support for reducing public transit costs will also expand. A new youth category covering those aged 13 to 18 will be added to the "Modu's Card" program, which reimburses a portion of public transit spending. With enrollment projected to grow from about 5.37 million users this year to about 9.55 million next year, the program's budget rises 55 percent, from 558 billion won to 865.2 billion won.

Funding for demand-responsive transit (DRT) — an on-call service for rural areas and late-night hours where conventional public transit is limited — will double, from 100 billion won to 200 billion won.

New project budgets for future mobility technologies such as autonomous driving and urban air mobility (UAM) will also see significant increases. The government will newly allocate 35 billion won for a UAM commercial service pilot and 9.9 billion won to demonstrate a K-UAM safety operations framework. An additional 23.4 billion won will go toward building three AI drone training centers, while funding for drone localization and AI drone development rises from 12.2 billion won to 15.6 billion won.

Investment to help Korean firms break into overseas construction markets will grow as well. The Industrial Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Fund, which helps private infrastructure projects secure financing, will expand roughly eightfold, from 50 billion won to 433.6 billion won. In addition, 20 billion won will go toward a second-phase PIS (Plant, Infrastructure and Smart City) overseas expansion fund and 100 billion won toward a third-phase fund, for a combined 120 billion won.

Safety investment will also increase. The budget for using Internet of Things and AI technology to modernize railway maintenance and expand airport safety infrastructure rises from 79.8 billion won to 220.1 billion won. An additional 141.5 billion won has been set aside to expand airport safety facilities, including bird-strike prevention systems and azimuth guidance equipment.

The government will also pursue the replacement of aging KTX rolling stock, allocate 31.4 billion won for a pan-government joint fire safety inspection of factories and warehouses, and newly invest 5 billion won to improve fire safety in 5,000 piloti-style apartment buildings.

A support program providing pedal-misapplication prevention devices for elderly drivers will expand from 3,260 vehicles this year to 4,625 next year, with the related budget rising from 1 billion won to 1.9 billion won.

A Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport official said the government would "expand investment in core infrastructure to promote balanced regional growth and ease commuting difficulties in the greater Seoul area," adding that additional funds had been allocated "to strengthen global competitiveness through the development and demonstration of future mobility technologies."