Sejong Agency Relocation Raises Pressure on High-Speed Rail Capacity

South Korea’s next phase of government agency relocation to Sejong is raising concern that already crowded high-speed rail services will struggle to accommodate thousands of additional commuters next year.

Nearly 3,000 civil servants could be transferred to the administrative city under the relocation plan. Many are expected to continue living in Seoul or other existing places of residence at first, particularly when their families cannot move immediately because of children’s schooling or other commitments. That prospect has focused attention on the limited availability of trains serving Osong Station, the main high-speed rail gateway to Sejong.

Officials who already make the journey say reservations can be difficult to secure even when bookings open a month in advance. Same-day tickets on the Suseo-Osong route are described as especially scarce, while passageways between train cars can become crowded during peak periods. Temporary commuter buses are being considered for transferred personnel, but a trip from Seoul’s Gangnam Express Bus Terminal to Sejong takes close to two hours, making rail the more attractive option for many travelers.

Demand has been rising for reasons beyond the government relocation. Travelers from outside the capital use services to reach major hospitals near Suseo Station, while growing numbers of foreign visitors are also using Korea’s rail network. Korea Railroad Corp. data show that foreign rail passengers increased from 3.44 million in 2023 to 6.06 million in 2025, a rise of roughly 80 percent.

Traffic at Osong Station has expanded sharply as well. Annual passenger movements rose from 1.5 million in 2012 to 4.1 million in 2015 after the Honam high-speed line opened. The total exceeded 5 million in 2016 following the launch of SRT services and reached 9.53 million last year. Another 7.42 million passenger movements were recorded through the end of September this year, putting the station on track to cross 10 million for the full year.

The Land Ministry plans to add a second pair of tracks on the Pyeongtaek-Osong corridor. The project is expected to double the section’s current capacity of 190 train movements per day, with one-way movements projected to increase from 179 to 237. However, the opening has slipped from late 2027 to 2028, leaving no near-term infrastructure solution before the planned transfers begin.

The Interior Ministry’s Government Complex Management Office said commuting demand should be assessed and transportation measures coordinated before the relocation is fully underway. Those measures could include additional high-speed rail services, although any increase will have to contend with the corridor’s existing capacity constraints.