At the Seoul city audit by the National Assembly's Land Infrastructure and Transport Committee on Oct. 20, ruling party lawmakers launched an intense offensive over Mayor Oh Se-hoon's flagship project, the "Han River Bus." They raised concerns over safety, the business structure's excessive fiscal burden, and more.
Rep. Cheon Jun-ho of the Democratic Party of Korea said, "During operation of the pilot-run task force for the Han River Bus, there were pointed out issues regarding generator discharge, but they were not fixed and caused failures even in official operation."
He added, "When we asked the Seoul city government for documents on measures taken for malfunctions during the pilot run, it replied that there were no documents because they were matters pursued by the private operator (Han River Bus Co., Ltd.)," noting, "Mayor Oh decided on official operation without properly addressing safety matters."
Oh said, "I was briefed that, overall, there were no safety problems," adding, "E-Cruise, a participating company in the Han River Bus, has technical know-how in vessel operation, so detailed malfunctions should be checked at the working level."
Rep. Lee Yeon-hee of the Democratic Party of Korea, referring to some vessels in the Han River Bus fleet that run on electric propulsion systems, asked, "Batteries are vulnerable to water and carry a high risk of thermal runaway," and "Did you test whether they are safe even during summer heat waves?"
Rep. Shin Young-dae of the same party also said, "Looking at the materials from the pilot run, only dry powder extinguishers, which make it difficult to put out battery fires, were installed, and it states that explosions are induced upward to prevent chain explosions in the event of a fire," pointing out, "There is a cabin above where passengers sit, so I don't understand what an upward induction means."
In response, Park Jin-Young, head of Seoul's Future Han River Headquarters, said, "We used the safest batteries available for vessels and confirmed multiple times through the Korea Maritime Transportation Safety Authority (KOMSA) and others that they are technically safe," adding, "We also have a fire response manual in place."
Oh said, "Of the 12 Han River Buses, four use battery electric propulsion, and this is not the first in Korea—there are other cases," adding, "We will pay particular attention."
Rep. Lee Geon-tae of the Democratic Party of Korea said the Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation (SH) lent 87.6 billion won to the Han River Bus without collateral, adding, "This violates the Local Public Enterprises Act and could constitute breach of trust."
Rep. Jeon Yong-gi of the same party said that in the process of SH borrowing 50 billion won from a bank, it issued a comfort letter, adding, "It effectively guaranteed that if the Han River Bus fails, SH will buy all the vessels and repay the debt."
In response, Oh said, "There is no collateral, but all legal means to secure repayment have been devised," adding, "By our assessment, it will be sufficiently in the black starting two to three years after operations."
Regarding a ruling party lawmaker's comment calling the Han River Bus "a project to fulfill the mayor's dream," Oh said, "You are presuming it is for the mayor's personal political purpose, but we started this project because we judged it necessary to give not only those living near the Han River but all citizens a fair chance to enjoy the Han River up close."