Godeok or Guri? Dispute over name of new Han River bridge

The Seoul district office of Gangdong-gu and the Guri city government have failed to settle their differences over the naming of a new Han River bridge, resulting in the matter being handed to a state-run committee.

According to the Gangdong-gu Office, the Korea Expressway Corporation recently requested the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation's naming committee to decide on the name of the bridge, which is currently under construction and set to be completed later this year.

The six-lane bridge is 1.7 kilometers long and connects Godeok-dong in Gangdong-gu, eastern Seoul, with Topyeong-dong in Guri city, Gyeonggi Province. It is the 33rd bridge to be constructed over the Han River, which divides the northern and southern part of the nation's capital.

Seoul Metropolitan Government, in charge of managing the bridge, had initially decided to accept Gangdong-gu's request to name it Godeok Bridge. The city council in May last year passed a resolution in favor of the name, which passed the city's naming committee in the same month.

But Guri city's naming committee in August last year decided on the name of Guri Bridge, leading to a dispute between the two regional government bodies.

Gangdong-gu claimed that naming it Guri Bridge will lead to confusion, since the Guri-Amsadaegyo Bridge is nearby. But Guri said that the new bridge is also close to Gangdongdaegyo Bridge.

The new bridge is being constructed between the two bridges, and is slightly closer to the Gangdongdaegyo Bridge.

Guri also pointed out that most of the bridge spans areas within the administrative jurisdiction of the city, while Gangdong pointed out that the name, Godeok Bridge, has been used since the KEC and its contractor, Hyundai Engineering and Construction, first broke ground back in 2016.

The KEC had initially been entrusted with getting the two sides to agree on a name, but the state-run corporation eventually handed over the task to the Land Ministry.