Oh Sehoon Emphasizes "All Certifications Completed" for Hangang Bus Safety [2025 National Audit]

National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee Audit of Seoul on October 20
Jeon Yonggi: "Project rushed without ensuring safety"
Mayor Oh: "All KOMSA certifications completed"

Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon emphasized that the Hangang Bus has passed all government agency certifications in response to suspicions about its safety.

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 questions from Jeon Yonggi, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea, who pointed out repeated minor malfunctions during the operation of the Hangang Bus.

Yonhap News Agency

Assemblyman Jeon cited the records of Hangang Bus malfunctions and criticized, "These problems occur because safety is not guaranteed at all and the project is being rushed. Since citizen taxes were even used as a guarantee, if this project goes wrong, shouldn't it be corrected immediately?"

In response, Mayor Oh said, "I do not intend to deny the fact that there have been minor malfunctions," adding, "The Korea Maritime Transportation Safety Authority (KOMSA) inspects the vessel dozens of times during each stage of construction, and only after approval is granted can the vessel begin operation." He continued, "For the main model, we conducted a six-month test run-three months without passengers and another three months with passengers-before deploying vessels of the same specifications for actual operation. With this process as a premise, I believe excessive concerns about safety can be alleviated."

Shin Youngdae, another lawmaker from the same party, remarked, "Even electric vehicles produced by global companies have experienced fires, so thorough and meticulous countermeasures against battery accidents are necessary for the Hangang Bus as well."

Mayor Oh responded, "We have checked, and there were tests related to battery heat for the Hangang Bus," adding, "During the type approval process, we intentionally triggered thermal runaway in the battery to check for chain explosions, and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries granted approval after this process."