2nd Vice Minister Hwang Seong-kyu of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport give a commemorative speech at the 30th Road Day anniversary event at The K Hotel& Resort in Seoul on July 7. (Photos: MOLIT)

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) and Korea Road Association hosted a ceremony to mark the 30th Road Day anniversary on July 7. A seminar on road policies as also held at The K Hotel & Resort in Seoul.

Road Day falls on July 7 to celebrate the opening of the Gyeongbuk (Seoul-Busan) Expressway, which served as a driving force behind the development the national economy and industrial growth. Road Day has been observed every day since 1992.

The 2021 anniversary event took place under the theme “Korean Roads Connect the World and Open the Future,” designed to give a sense of pride to those in the road industry.

Among those on hand at the anniversary event were 2nd MOLIT Vice Minister Hwang Seong-kyu, Chairman Kim Jin-suk of the Korea Road Association, concurrently president of Korea Expressway Corp. (KEC).

Fifty-seven people were honored with the MOLIT minister’s prizes in recognition for their contribution to the development of road and traffic sectors.

In particular, a majority of the prize winners were those who had sweated on road construction sites, and people with the construction engineering sector who had devoted themselves in the road design segment.

2nd Vice Minister Hwang Sung-kyu of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport poses with prize winners at the 30th Road Day anniversary event.

The anniversary event was followed by a seminar on road policies concerning the changes of the 4th Industrial Revolution.

In-depth discussions were made on smart roads and ways to reinvigorate the road industry.

The seminar also served as an opportunity for experts and people with the industry to share on how to utilize a variety of technologies of the 4th Industrial Revolution such as drones and self-driving in the roadeosector and road industry people’s roles.

MOLIT Vice Minister Hwang recognized the need for roads to connect a greater world and open the new future in the post-COVID-19 era.

To this end, he said, “The government will advance roads using technologies of the 4th Industrial Revolution such as IoT and AI and greatly contribute to creating jobs by nurturing roads into a future growth engine.”