Incheon Mayor Yoo Jung-bok Rejects Lawmaker’s Criticism Over Incheon KTX Delays

Incheon Mayor Yoo Jung-bok, second from right, inspects the Aam underpass construction site on April 21. (Photo provided by Yoo’s social media)

Incheon Mayor Yoo Jung-bok on April 21 pushed back against criticism from Rep. Park Chan-dae over delays to the Incheon KTX project.

After Park raised the delay issue in a morning post on social media, Yoo responded in his own post following an inspection at Songdo Station. The Incheon KTX project is being pursued with a target opening in December 2026, and overall progress — including expansion work at Songdo Station — stands at about 71%.

Yoo wrote that he had held back from talking about the project because it was “my biggest achievement,” but said Park’s mention of it gave him an opening to ask: “First, who came up with the Incheon KTX and who has pushed it forward; second, what role did the Democratic Party and Rep. Park play; and third, who interfered and delayed the Incheon KTX?”

Yoo said he made the Incheon KTX his top campaign pledge when he ran for mayor in 2014, and that the project was pushed quickly with a 2021 opening target. He added that the transport minister at the time officially announced the opening would proceed without setbacks, and said he put the project “back on track” after returning as mayor in 2022.

Incheon Mayor Yoo Jung-bok inspects expansion work at Songdo Station for the Incheon KTX direct-connection project on April 21. (Photo provided by Incheon City)

Yoo focused his criticism on the 2018 transition to the city’s seventh elected administration, writing that the incoming team for then-Mayor-elect Park Nam-choon announced a delay that “turned the 2021 opening goal into nothing,” leaving Incheon residents to bear the impact.

In June 2018, Park’s transition committee said it expected the earliest possible opening to slip three years, from 2021 to 2024. The project was later delayed further through changes to the implementation plan. In 2025, the project’s completion date was adjusted again to December 2026, citing a cultural heritage excavation survey and measures to relocate legally protected species.

Addressing Rep. Park, Yoo wrote that the Democratic Party had “stood by” during the confusion and delays under the seventh administration, and said Park — who Yoo wrote now intends to run for mayor — was trying to damage him without understanding the full context.

Yoo added that Incheon residents already know where responsibility lies for the delay, and said Park should first apologize to the public. He also accused Park of political attacks, calling them “a self-defeating move” and “an own goal.”

Incheon Mayor Yoo Jung-bok inspects the Aam underpass construction site on April 21. (Photo provided by Incheon City)

The Incheon KTX project includes building a new 3.19-kilometer connection line linking the Suin Line and the Gyeongbu high-speed rail line, and upgrading Songdo, Choji and Eocheon stations.

Incheon City said during the site inspection that it plans to complete major work, including roadbed construction, by the first half of the year, begin integrated test runs in August, and aim for an opening by year’s end.

At the site, Yoo called the Incheon KTX a key transport project that would significantly improve residents’ mobility, and urged thorough management to ensure safe, disruption-free construction. The city said it views the line as a core axis of regional transportation and is also pursuing plans to extend it to Incheon International Airport and to develop a mixed-use complex around Songdo Station.