Hangang Bus Targeted by Ruling Party... 'Undermining Oh Sehoon' Accelerates

Ruling Party Steps Up Offensive Ahead of Local Elections
All Eyes on Mayor Oh's Remarks at the City Council Inquiry on the 18th

Following a series of Hangang Bus incidents, efforts by the ruling party to undermine Oh Sehoon are accelerating. Since the Hangang Bus project was a key initiative started based on Mayor Oh's idea, the strategy for responding to these incidents is expected to have an impact on the upcoming local elections, which are just six months away.

During the Seoul Metropolitan Council's administrative questioning session scheduled for the morning of November 18, debates regarding the Hangang Bus are expected to continue. This will be Mayor Oh's first public appearance since he issued an apology via Facebook following the Hangang Bus stoppage incident. Previously, Mayor Oh stated, "I sincerely apologize for causing anxiety and inconvenience to passengers," but also added, "It is not desirable to use safety issues as a tool for political attacks."

Yonhap News Agency

The city government and the operator, Hangang Bus Co., Ltd., maintain that the recent stoppage incident was caused by a 'route deviation,' and that operations along the normal route remain safe. However, it has been revealed that there were 13 reports of contact with the riverbed or foreign objects just this month, even before the stoppage incident occurred. In response to calls for a return to 'full-scale pilot operations,' Kim Seonjik, CEO of Hangang Bus, deferred comment, saying, "It is difficult to comment at this time."

The ruling party's criticism of Mayor Oh has intensified. The Democratic Party of Korea has even established the "Oh Sehoon Policy Failure Normalization Task Force (Oh Sehoon TF)." The Policy Committee of the Democratic Party and members of the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee affiliated with the ruling party stated, "The Seoul Metropolitan Government belatedly admitted that there have been as many as 15 instances of contact with underwater foreign objects," and urged, "Mayor Oh should immediately suspend all Hangang Bus operations."

An inspection at the government level is also planned. On November 16, Prime Minister Kim Minseok instructed the Seoul Metropolitan Government to identify not only the cause of the Hangang Bus stoppage incident but also to check all overall safety factors. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety plans to conduct an inspection of the Hangang Bus in cooperation with relevant ministries. An official from the ministry stated, "We are preparing for an inspection, and the participating agencies are still under discussion."

In addition to the Hangang Bus, Mayor Oh's flagship housing project, the "Rapid Integrated Planning," has also come under scrutiny. Assemblyman Chun Junho, head of the Oh Sehoon TF, pointed out, "The Seoul Metropolitan Government has pledged to shorten the redevelopment project period and accelerate housing supply through the Rapid Integrated Planning initiative, but in reality, things are stagnating rather than proceeding rapidly on the ground."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.