Oh Se-hoon, the Seoul mayor, said on the 14th that comments by Democratic Party of Korea candidate Chong Won-o—expected to face him in the June 3 local elections—about "halting the Han River bus" were "political attacks concentrated by the Democratic Party because they see signs that the (Han River bus project) will be a big hit."
Appearing on YTN Radio's "Jang Sung-chul's News Myungdang" that day, Oh said, "You have to watch for a year after operations begin and identify areas to supplement," adding, "Reaching a conclusion around this fall is the normal judgment of someone who has actually done the work."
Oh said, "We brought in working-level experts who run vessel businesses on London's Thames River in the United Kingdom and New York's Hudson River in the United States and listened to them, and they were extremely envious of the (Han River bus)," adding, "They said it needs to be converted to hybrid or electric boats, but Korea has already done it. They were so envious. There were countless things they envied."
He added, "Any project has trial and error at the beginning."
Oh also said, "A river without boats on the Han River is a dead river," adding, "The Han River Renaissance is almost complete now. The aquatic ecosystem has all revived."
He continued, "Along the Han River, it has become Seoul's representative leisure space where 200,000 people always stay," adding, "Now the final flourish is boats."