Dignitaries, including Minister Kim Hyun-mi of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), Chairman Kim Sang-kyun of the Korea Railway Association, KORAIL President Sohn Byeong-suk and President Lee Yong-bae of Hyundai Rotem, attend the 2020 anniversary of Railroad Day at Sheraton Seoul D’Cube City Hotel in Seoul on June 26. (Photos: KR)

Chairman Kim Sang-kyun of the Korea Railway Association (KORASS) said, “The Korean railway industry will be nurtured into a futuristic growth engine to lead the 4th Industrial Revolution beyond the simple transportation means.”

He made the remarks at an event to mark the 2020 anniversary of Railroad Day at Sheraton Seoul D’Cube City Hotel on June 26.

Chairman Kim Sang-kyun of the Korea Railway Association (KORASS).

In her commemorative speech, Minister Kim Hyun-mi of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) praised those who have contributed to the development of the railway industry.

Minister Kim called for those in the railway industry to muster wisdom and join forces in elevating the railway industry a step upward this year.

The 2020 Railway Day anniversary event was held under the theme “Innovation and Growth of Railway, Korean Railroad 2020, Opening Future.”

Among about 150 people on hand at the anniversary ceremony were Chairman Kim of the Korea Railway Association and concurrently chairman of Korea Rail Network Authority (KR), President Sohn Byeong-suk of Korea Railroad Corp. (KORAIL),  President Kwon Tae-myung of SR, and President Lee Yong-bae of Hyundai Rotem. The anniversary event was hosted by MOLIT, organized jointly by KR, KORAIL and SR, and supported by the Korea Railway Association.

During the event, a performance took place to give thanks to those in the railway industry who have made efforts to make railway safe around the clock like the establishment of a regime of containing the spread of COVID-19 and to medical staff who has dedicated themselves to preventing the novel coronavirus.

One hundred and thirty people in the railway industry were honored with government orders and MOLIT Minister’s prizes in recognition of their contribution to the development of the railway industry.

The anniversary of Railway Day fell on June 28 to celebrate the date of the establishment of the nation’s first railway bureau in 1894, during the Joseon Dynasty.

At a cabinet meeting held May 8, 2018, the government changed the anniversary day from Sept. 18 to June 28. In the previous years, Railway Day was observed in celebration of the Gyeongin Line, the nation’s first 33.2-km-long railway route connecting Noryangjin and Jaemulpo in 1899.