Oh Se-hoon, the Seoul mayor, apologized on the 29th for the temporary suspension of passenger boarding on the Hangang Bus, saying he was truly sorry to citizens.
At a briefing on Seoul's dwellings supply measures held at City Hall that day, Oh said, "Some citizens would have planned to ride the Hangang Bus with their families during the Chuseok holiday and would have been looking forward to it, but it is truly regrettable and unfortunate that we could not operate it."
Starting that day, the Seoul city government will temporarily suspend passenger boarding on the Hangang Bus for about a month and shift to a "no-passenger trial operation" to enhance performance and stabilize the system.
Oh said, "During roughly 10 days of operation, several mechanical and electrical defects occurred, and it is true that this caused some anxiety among citizens," adding, "We decided that it would be desirable to suspend operations at this time and sufficiently stabilize the system."
After No. 104, which departed from the Magok pier in Seoul for Jamsil on the 26th, returned to port 10 minutes after departure due to a rudder problem, Oh ordered the Future Hangang Headquarters and Hangang Bus Co. to gather input from experts, including engineers.
Oh said, "Because operations had already begun, I thought they might feel pressured by public opinion to stop them, but I instructed them to set aside that burden and take the opportunity to candidly hear the opinions of experts such as captains and engineers," adding, "I was told that on the 27th, the following day, experts proposed suspending operations for about a month and devising stabilization measures."
He added, "This is not something we will run for one or two years and then stop, so I thought it would be desirable to suspend for about a month now and sufficiently stabilize it," adding, "If additional details arise later, we will provide briefings as needed."
Earlier, Park Jin-Young, head of the Seoul Future Hangang Headquarters, said at a brief on "transition to trial operation of the Hangang Bus" held at City Hall that morning, "Given that we had a six-month testing period before formal operation, I do not think this was a hasty or excessive start," adding, "However, issues beyond our predictions occurred, so we decided to conduct a trial operation for a month and test."
He added, "We plan to complete all stress tests within a month to the best of our ability," adding, "We will conduct sufficient testing to prevent frequent minor glitches and the resulting loss of trust, and then begin formal operations."