President Park Geun-hye on Wednesday backed a controversial express railway project linking Seoul with the eastern coast.

During a visit to Gangwon Province, she said the new train corridor would not only help boost the local economy but also strategically benefit the country.

“I believe this project is not only to stimulate the local economy, such as through attracting tourists, but it is also in consideration of eventually being connected to Eurasia over the long term,” Park said during a briefing with the Gangwon governor.

Building a line connecting Chuncheon and Sokcho and a double-deck rail line between Yeoju and Wonju have been missions for the province since a similar project was first pledged by former President Roh Tae-woo in 1987.

Roh’s successors copied the pledge with several revisions, but the project has so far been shelved due to concerns over feasibility and insufficient budget. Park had also made the pledge in her presidential campaign last year.

“I would like to say that the project is viewed not only for the sake of the region but also as a strategic choice for the country,” Park said, adding that provincial pledges were not just for economic rationale.

The Gangwon railway is among the big-ticket projects promised by Park, including a new airport in the southern region. The Park administration has pledged to faithfully implement them after conducting its own feasibility studies.

Park visited Chuncheon and Wonju as part of her first municipal policy tour and surveyed cultural content and medical appliances complexes.

Park promised avid central government support for a successful 2018 Winter Olympics and hope for the world event to trigger rapid development of the mountainous region.

The government will also implement active policies to create good jobs and develop industries tailored to the needs of each region, Park said.

The Park administration had announced earlier this month its plan to launch and continue a total of 167 provincial projects in the next five years, estimated to cost around 124 trillion won. It said they would be financed by the central government, provincial governments and the private sector.

The cycle of promising and eventually scrapping what critics call white elephant projects has been common around election time as provinces pressure the government to follow-through for the sake of regional votes. The next local elections are slated for June 2014.

By Lee Joo-hee (jhl@heraldcorp.com)