Lee leads visit to South Korea to enhance state’s transportation system  

KUCHING (Aug 5): Sarawak Transport Minister Dato Sri Lee Kim Shin led a visit to South Korea recently as part of the ministry’s initiatives to expand innovative approaches to the state’s public land transport system.

According to the minister, the visit from July 29 to Aug 2 involved getting to know the bus and urban traffic management practices.

“This will serve as a benchmark for transforming and expanding Sarawak’s public transportation system,” he said.

Lee, who was joined by his deputy Datuk Dr Jerip Susil and ministry’s officials, also visited the Transport Operation and Information Service (Topis), Jungnang Public Bus Depot, T-Money, LG Consulting, Network and System (CNS) Science Park, and Hyundai Motorstudio.

During the visit to Seoul TOPIS, Lee said they were briefed on the operation of Topis to assist Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) on public transportation management, urban traffic planning, disaster and emergency management.

A meeting was held with SMG (Transportation Policy) director Lee Jingu during the visit and among topics discussed included urban mobility, public bus information and tracking system, public transport facilities financing model, and public transport subsidy models.

While at the Jungnang Public Bus Depot, one of the largest public bus depots in Seoul, the delegation was briefed on the operation and management of public bus depot, as well as the conversion of conventional compressed natural gas (CNG) buses to electric vehicle (EV) and hydrogen buses.

The transition towards EV and hydrogen buses, said Lee, aligns with South Korea’s government policy of using green and renewable energy in public transportation to reduce carbon emission.

The delegation also learned about Seoul’s cutting-edge technology in transportation card system during their visit to Seoul’s Smart Transportation Card T-Money head office.

“The insights on best practices from Seoul’s integration of smart mobility and smart transportation payment are instrumental in enhancing our very own transportation infrastructure,” Lee pointed out.

The visit to LG Science Park and Hyundai Motor Goyang Studio, meanwhile, had enlightened them on the latest innovation of hydrogen vehicles and autonomous vehicles.

Lee said they also paid a courtesy call on Ambassador of Malaysia to South Korea, Dato Mohd Zamruni Khalid before having a meeting with Jung Hee Uhm, South Korea’s deputy minister for Transport and Logistics, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

During the meeting, Lee and his delegation were briefed on the government’s policies on the management of public land transportation, urban mobility, logistics and sustainable transportation.

Prior to departing for Kuala Lumpur on Aug 2, Lee said they visited the Integrated Operations Centre (IOC) at Incheon International Airport to better understand the management, roles and functions of the IOC.