Oh Se-hoon: "Hangang Bus Uses the Safest Batteries" [2025 National Audit]

In response to concerns over battery fire risk,
Oh says, "Enhanced safety measures applied"

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon emphasized that "the safest batteries were used" in response to concerns about the high fire risk of the batteries installed in the Hangang Bus.

On October 20, during a National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee audit held at Seoul City Hall, Mayor Oh made this statement in response to a question from Lee Yeon-hee, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea, regarding the fire risk of the batteries installed in the Hangang Bus.

Yonhap News Agency

Assemblywoman Lee stated, "There are 30,000 NCM batteries installed in the Hangang Bus, and these batteries have a higher risk of thermal runaway compared to LFP batteries. The recent fires at the National Information Resources Service, Kakao Data Center, and in an electric vehicle in Incheon all involved batteries of the same type. Have you conducted performance tests to ensure their safety, especially during summer when temperatures can reach up to 40 degrees Celsius?"

Mayor Oh responded, "In this case, the batteries are of the immersion type, which means they are much safer than those typically used in buses or other means of transportation. Among all the batteries developed so far that can be used for vessels, we used the safest one."

Regarding whether performance tests were conducted during the summer, Park Jin-young, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Future Hangang Headquarters, replied, "Rather than conducting a separate heatwave response test on the batteries, the batteries installed in the Hangang Bus have received both type approval and certification from accredited institutions. The pilot operation conducted in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province after the vessel was built also included the summer period."

Shin Young-dae, another lawmaker from the Democratic Party, also raised questions about the fire risk of the batteries installed in the Hangang Bus. Assemblyman Shin said, "Ten automatic powder fire extinguishers using monoammonium phosphate are installed in the battery room, but these extinguishers cannot put out battery fires." Park responded, "As far as I know, both powder and CO2 extinguishers are installed together."

Assemblyman Chun Joon-ho from the Democratic Party pointed out that Seoul City does not have records of Hangang Bus breakdowns and corrective actions, and questioned Mayor Oh, "Why did you hastily approve official operation without checking or addressing the issues that arose during the pilot operation?"

Mayor Oh explained, "I received a comprehensive report that there were no safety issues," and added, "The decision to conduct pilot operations without passengers was made after consulting with the private company operating the service, not unilaterally by Seoul City."