Dignitaries, including 2nd Vice Minister of Hwang Seong-kyu of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT). Chairman Kim Han-young of the Korea Railway Association, KORAIL President Son Byung-seok, SR President Kwon Tae-myung, and Chairman Jin Sun-mi of the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, attend a ceremony to celebrate the 2021 Railway Day anniversary.

A ceremony to celebrate the 2021 Railway Day took place at Millennium Hotel in Seoul on June 28 with about 90 people in attendance.

Among those on hand at the event were 2nd Vice Minister of Hwang Seong-kyu of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), Chairman Kim Han-young of the Korea Railway Association, KORAIL President Son Byung-seok, SR President Kwon Tae-myung, and Chairman Jin Sun-mi of the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee.

The anniversary event was hosted by MOLIT and jointly organized by the Korea Railway Association, KR, KORAIL and SR under the theme “Korean Railway Industry Spearheads Realization of Carbon Neutrality Country.”

MOLIT and participants pledged to secure growth engines of the future railway through Green New Deal projects using railway stations, platforms, rail tracks and other railway facilities and idle land in order to realize the 2050 carbon neutrality vision.

Chairman Kim Han-young of the Korea Railway Association and 2nd Vice Minister of Hwang Seong-kyu of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure Transport (MOLIT) deliver speeches at the Railway Day anniversary event. (Photos: MOLIT)

The event was televised live via the official YouTube channel of the Korean Railway Association for those in the railway industry who could not attend the event due to the spread of COVID-19 pandemic. Some people in the industry performed to celebrate the anniversary occasion, boosting the festive mood.

One hundred and ten people were honored with MOLIT minister’s prize in recognition of contributions to localizing railway cars and parts and developing technologies related to signal and communication sectors.

Eight others from each sector were also presented with prizes in recognition of their contributions to localizing railway switches and centralized traffic controls for which Korea has so far depended on foreign imports and exploring overseas markets.

In his opening speech, Chairman Kim of the Korea Railway Association, concurrently chairman of the Korea National Railroad (KR) said, “Railway resources such as railway stations, platforms, rail tracks, other railway facilities and idle land will be utilized for the implementation of Green New Deal projects, designed to secure growth engines of the future railroad industry in order to realize the government’s 2050 carbon neutrality vision.”

In his commemorative speech, MOLIT Vice Minister Hwang urged those in the railway industry to have a sense of national pride in which the industry walks with the people and plays a part in opening the future so it can be beloved by everyone.

Hwang cited people’s rising demand for rapid, convenient railway services, and mounting expectations for the railway industry, an eco-friendly transportation means of realizing a carbon neutrality society by 2050.