[2026 National Assembly Audit] Another Hangang Bus clash... Oh Sehoon calls kickback allegations a "political attack"

Clash over Hangang Bus kickback allegations at Seoul City audit
Democratic Party raises allegations of destroyed audit records and delayed investigation
Oh Sehoon: "Brokerage fees and kickbacks are different"
Seoul City: "No delay in requesting a probe; no order to destroy or conceal records"

Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon described the “Hangang Bus kickback allegations” as “an obvious political attack.” At the Seoul City Government audit held by the National Assembly’s Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee on October 19, Oh pushed back against the allegations, saying that he had continued to investigate the matter and had never ordered anyone to destroy or conceal the relevant documents.

At the Seoul City Government audit, which began that morning, lawmakers clashed over what has been dubbed the “Hangang Bus kickback allegations.” Democratic Party lawmakers focused their questions on allegations that the Seoul city government delayed requesting a police investigation, while Oh’s side countered that this was a political attack.

Yonhap News Agency

In particular, Oh protested: “You defined this as a 1.5 billion won kickback case. That is truly astounding. It seems you are trying, by linking brokerage fees with kickbacks in any way you can, to mislead the public, who may not fully understand what brokerage fees and kickbacks mean.”

Democratic Party lawmakers pressed Oh on the selection of a company with little shipbuilding experience, the kickback allegations, and the delayed request for an investigation. Oh dismissed the issue, saying the amount in question was a brokerage fee paid when the vessel contract was signed. He also pushed back against allegations that the Seoul city government had failed to submit documents and delayed requesting an investigation, saying brokerage fees and kickbacks are different and that there was no evidence that money or other benefits had been given to an employee of the Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation (SH).

Democratic Party lawmakers also pointed out deficiencies in the materials requested for the audit. Democratic Party lawmaker Heo Young said that not a single item requested by his office had been submitted. He called on the city to provide details of follow-up measures taken after the Board of Audit and Inspection dismissed a request for a public interest audit related to the Hangang Bus in October 2025, as well as records of reports to the mayor and lists of the departments and officials in charge. Democratic Party lawmaker Jung Il-young also said, “The Seoul city government is submitting very few of the materials requested for the audit,” adding, “If you say it is difficult to submit them because they concern the city’s own administrative affairs, why are we even conducting a national audit?”

Oh, however, countered that he had continued investigating the matter from the time he learned of the kickback allegations until a request for a police investigation was made. He said that from July 23 through October 14, the day before the National Assembly’s Public Administration and Security Committee audit, the city had conducted investigations and preparations on 23 occasions in total, including three requests for document reviews, one on-site investigation, four interviews with people involved, and telephone calls. He added that the city had been unable to disclose the details of its investigation during the Public Administration and Security Committee audit because the relevant materials had not yet been compiled, and that interviews with SH executives had continued through September.

Lawmakers also questioned whether audit materials had been destroyed and whether the allegations had been concealed. When People Power Party lawmaker Kim Jeongjae asked whether Oh had ever ordered anyone to destroy or conceal documents related to the Hangang Bus, Oh denied it, saying, “No.” Joo Jaewan, former head of the Seoul city government’s Investigation Division, was also asked whether he had reported the request for a police investigation to Oh. He replied, “As I remember it, I did not give him a separate in-person briefing.”

Oh also said that he requested a police investigation into the Hangang Bus kickback allegations on the day after the Public Administration and Security Committee audit, and that an SH director implicated in the allegations was suspended from duties and removed from the position that same day.

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