Park Young-hoon, Bupyeong District Councillor: "We must prevent a recurrence of the Dongam Station tragedy... We must be wary of the political exploitation of the GTX ventilation controversy"

Park Young-hoon, a councillor from Incheon Bupyeong District (Democratic Party·Bupyeong 3-dong, Sangok 3·4-dong, Sipjeong 1·2-dong), urged measures to prevent a recurrence of human accidents due to structural defects in the Dongam Station public parking lot, while also warning against political approaches to the recently escalating conflict over the installation of the GTX-B line ventilation system and calling for practical solutions.

During the third urban environment committee report at the 274th Bupyeong District Council temporary session held on January 30, Park Young-hoon began his inquiry by revealing photos of the accident site from the parking lot at Dongam Station that occurred in November 2025.

He pointed out that "the parking lot has a structure that does not allow for a sufficient turning angle when exiting, making it very difficult for drivers to access the payment terminal," adding, "It was a tragic accident where a driver in their 70s crashed onto the sidewalk while trying to insert a card into the terminal due to a manipulation error, hitting a pedestrian who was pushing a stroller."

While he positively acknowledged the safety fence installed after the accident, he strongly recommended that "for a fundamental solution, a terminal system that extends more than 30cm should be immediately introduced in consultation with the city so that payments can be made without vehicles getting too close."

He then actively defended Bupyeong District's position regarding the conflict over the installation of the GTX-B line ventilation system in Baegun Park, expressing concern over the 'political offensive'.

Park stated, "Bupyeong District has already submitted opinions several times to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport regarding securing a distance from the children's water play area and reviewing alternative sites since 2023, but the Ministry has not reflected this and approved it citing business viability and other reasons," clarifying the facts.

In particular, targeting the opposition signature campaign involving local city councillors, he criticized, "It is inappropriate to politically exploit the situation by making it seem as if Bupyeong District is at fault, using residents as hostages," and added, "Instead of escalating a national project that incurs daily interest of 25 billion won due to construction delays into a political conflict, we should focus on finding practical alternatives through a resident consultative body."

Park remarked, "It is fortunate that the facility was selected as an air supply facility rather than an exhaust facility, but residents' anxiety remains high," and urged, "In the consultative body to be formed in the future, while listening to residents' demands, relevant departments must feel a sense of responsibility and respond to prevent a situation where we can only stop a problem with a hoe when it could have been stopped with a rake."