Notes from Korea: “Strong Government” Essential to Transformational Change

This blog post is the third and final in a series about lessons California can learn from South Korea’s transit system, made possible by to the Wendy Tao Smart Cities Scholarship. View the first post here and the second here.

Passengers riding Line 1 in Seoul, the first of Seoul’s metro lines.

“In my opinion, an essential factor in Seoul’s success, and the success of most other high-quality public transportation systems, is strong government.”

This was what Dr. Madiha Bencekri, a research professor at the University of Seoul’s Transportation Engineering Department, told me when I interviewed her as part of my research into what lessons California can learn from South Korea’s public transit system. “When the government makes a decision to build a project,” she elaborated, “all levels of government come together to make it happen.”

Indeed, many of Seoul’s most impressive achievements in transit expansion and innovation, including the construction of its first metro line in 1974, stem from strong political leadership and campaign commitments to deliver major projects.

Map of the GTX regional rail project, consisting of 237.4 kilometers of new rail lines, connecting the Seoul metropolitan region.

While promises of new transit lines are also common in the U.S., a key difference is that South Korea’s senior municipal and central government leaders have been able to mobilize vast government bureaucracies to design and construct projects rapidly—often completing them within a single term of office.

A recent example is the central government’s ambitious Great Train eXpress, or GTX regional rail project, comprising three new high-speed rail lines crisscrossing the greater Seoul region at speeds up to 180 km/h. The GTX concept was first announced in 2017, and construction began by late 2018. The first phase of the first line, GTX-A, opened in 2024, just six years later—practically lightning speed by North American standards.

Through my research, I’ve come to understand that South Korea’s "strong government" is not merely about ambitious politicians making bold promises—it also involves a network of empowered national and regional agencies and research institutions working collectively to implement those visions. These institutions provide the mandate, capacity, and authority needed to carry out public goals, with clearly defined roles and responsibilities.

Important features of South Korea’s ecosystem of transport government agencies include:

• An empowered national authority leading long-term planning and implementation;

• Integrated and focused public research institutions targeting specific government objectives and drawing from international best practices; and

• Effective metropolitan-level governance that ensures coordination across South Korea’s five major urban agglomerations, where 80% of the population resides.

This post outlines the key agencies delivering these functions in Korea’s transportation ecosystem and reflects on the potential lessons for California as it seeks transit transformation.

An Empowered National-Level Agency: MOLIT

While Seoul’s first metro line was initiated by the City of Seoul and initially met with skepticism from the national government, since the 1970s the national government has played a leading role in public transportation planning across the country. Separate Ministries of Transportation and Construction were merged in 1994, and in 2013, land-use planning authority was added to create today’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport (MOLIT).

MOLIT is now responsible for national transportation, land-use planning, and construction—enabling highly coordinated policymaking and cost-effective infrastructure delivery. It develops 20-year strategic plans and 5-year public transit master plans, which guide consistent local plans by city and regional governments.

Transport planning framework in Korea, including clear relationships between national, regional and local governments, led by MOLIT. (Source: Cho, Urban Transport Governance and Inclusive Development in Korea)

Given Korea’s large-scale capital investments, MOLIT oversees a sophisticated public investment management system known as Total Project Cost Management (TPCM), which “combines close monitoring from the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and independent expert assessment” at key stages of a project’s life cycle. TPCM applies to all public projects lasting over two years or costing at least KRW 50 billion (approx. USD 47.5 million). These measures contribute to South Korea’s exceptionally low transportation construction costs. For example, Korean rail projects cost less than one-quarter of U.S. projects and less than half the global average per kilometer, adjusted for purchasing power parity.

Trains operated by nationally owned operator Korail at Seoul’s central train station.

Similar to countries like Switzerland, most rail infrastructure in South Korea is owned by the national government. A national operator, Korail, provides intercity and long-distance service. MOLIT oversees both Korail and Korea National Railway (KNR), which constructs and maintains infrastructure—allowing for seamless integration of capital improvements and service delivery on the national network.

Focused Research Institutions with Deep Expertise: KOTI, KRRI, SI

MOLIT’s policymaking is informed by several technology research institutions, including the Korea Transport Institute (KOTI) and the Korea Railroad Research Institute (KRRI). These organizations conduct research on policy, safety, standards, and transport technologies. KOTI, in particular, is tasked with providing “recommendations and alternatives for the nation’s transport policy and to create the optimal transport system through specialized research and technical innovations.”

At the municipal level, the Seoul Development Institute—renamed The Seoul Institute (SI) in 2012—supports the Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) through bringing global best practices to the city. Its mission is to “improve municipal administration, enhance the quality of life of Seoul citizens, and reinforce the competitiveness of the city by setting a medium- and long-term vision.” As noted in a prior post, SI played a key role in the research, development, and implementation of Seoul’s transformative 2004 bus and fare integration reforms.

Institutions like KOTI and SI are strongly linked to global knowledge networks and actively incorporate international best practices in transportation and technology.

While the U.S. and California have numerous public research institutions—such as those funded by the University Transportation Centers (UTC) Program—South Korea’s research entities appear to have closer, more direct collaboration with government agencies, providing applied implementation support for public mandates.

Evolving Metropolitan-Level Governance: MTC

Effective metropolitan-level governance is a more recent development in Korea. Historically, a lack of regional coordination—particularly in the fast-growing Seoul Metropolitan Region—was a major challenge.

To address this, MOLIT and KOTI partnered with the International Transport Forum (affiliated with the OECD) on a 2018 study that examined best practices from cities like London, Paris, and Barcelona.

Following this in 2019, Korea established the Metropolitan Transport Commission (MTC) within MOLIT. MTC oversees coordination across Korea’s five largest metropolitan regions. Its 30-member governing committee includes national leaders, local and regional officials, and appointed experts. Each region also has its own specific committee.

Promotion for the K-Pass—a transit card that offers riders reimbursements if they take transit at least 15 times per month—which is administered by MTC.

MTC’s responsibilities include developing multi-modal transit hubs, overseeing a national BRT plan, and implementing integrated fare systems, including the K-Pass, a multi-agency transit pass launched in 2024. In the Seoul region, MTC is managing the GTX project. Its mission is the “provision of seamless, convenient, and affordable transport services by building an inclusive cooperation system.”

Lessons for California and the U.S.: Invest in Strong, Aligned Institutions

Korea has built a cohesive institutional framework capable of delivering a high-quality, seamless public transportation network. The deep alignment of state, regional, local, and academic institutions toward shared goals—what Bencekri calls "strong government"—has proven effective.

For California to achieve its vision for a world-class rail network and seamless regional transit, with the ability to grow ridership by 10–15% annually, stronger state and regional governance is essential. That means clearly defined mandates, roles, and responsibilities, and greater institutional capacity.

Historically, California has shied away from taking a strong leadership role in transit planning. Unlike Caltrans, which oversees highway planning and implementation centrally, transit planning has been left largely to local agencies. Because California also lacks strong regional governments—metropolitan transportation organizations, or MPOs, are usually funding and planning entities with little authority to directly oversee transit—this has meant that counties, cities, and single-purpose transit districts develop their own transit project proposals. This results in fragmented systems and weak connectivity, even in the Bay Area, where our very own MTC is among the most active MPOs in the state. Integration remains limited, despite overwhelming public support. 

California’s new approach to the State Rail Plan, laying out a clear long-term service-based vision, breaks with this tradition, and is an important first step toward aligning state, regional, and local actors toward better results. South Korea demonstrates that, in addition to a clear, common vision, aligned strong institutions with sufficient expertise and capacity are key to success. 

Seoul Metro passengers.

With California’s SB 125 Transit Transformation Task Force nearing completion in the coming months, the state has a unique window to advance critical reforms. Inspired by Korea’s success, those reforms should include:

• Strengthening statewide authority and capacity for long-range transit planning and delivery;

• Leveraging California’s transportation research institutions to more actively support state priorities and policy implementation;

• Establishing empowered regional transit network management organizations to oversee integration aligned with the statewide vision.

Let’s not shy away from building a "strong government" in California—one that is informed by global best practices and capable of evolving and improving over time. South Korea shows clearly what’s possible when political will is combined with effective and aligned public institutions.