The Honam HSR is intended to bring business, and economic opportunities to the province of Jeollanam-do, which has seen slower development than other parts of South Korea.

[1] On January 14, 2005, Prime Minister Lee Hae Chan met local representatives in Gwangju, who requested an early implementation of the project.

Lee pointed to the failure of the first phase of the KTX in meeting ridership forecasts during its first months, expressed skepticism regarding the profitability of the Honam HSR, and described it as a long-term project.

[3] In plans made official in August 2006[4] in spite of a benefit–cost ratio below 1,[5] the budget for the 182.75 km (113.56 mi) first stage (from the new Osong station on the Gyeongbu HSR to Gwangju) was set at 8,569.5 billion won.

[9] The ground-breaking ceremony was held at Gwangju·Songjeong Station in the attendance of President Lee Myung-bak on December 4, 2009, when total project costs were estimated at 11.3 trillion won (US$9.8 billion).

[13] The predicted first-year average daily ridership of the Honam KTX Line was raised from 22,818 in a November 1999 estimate to 36,085 in the final August 2003 forecast.

[16] By 2005, KTX fares were selectively reduced for relations under-performing most, especially on the Honam Line:[5] Following general ticket price increases and the separation of weekday and weekend fares, as of November 2010, the standard one-way Seoul to Mokpo ticket price stands at 40,500 won on weekdays and 43,300 won on weekends, but with significant reductions on newly introduced non-reserved seats.

[14] Another problem passenger surveys in the first months found was station access and the limited capacity of bus connections, leading to the frequent use of taxis.

[21] Strong gains at the expense of air transport and private cars were seen between Yongsan and Honam KTX service endpoints Mokpo and Gwangju, too.