Oh Se-hoon, Halloween Accident Risk "Did Not Anticipate"

Regarding the State Audit, "Will Follow the National Assembly's Decision"

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon stated on the 7th that he "did not anticipate" the risk of accidents that could occur as many people gathered during the Halloween period.

At the plenary meeting of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee that day, Mayor Oh responded to a question from Lee Hae-sik, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, asking, "More than 100,000 people were expected to gather that day. Did the city recognize the risk?" by saying this.

During the committee meeting, criticism was raised that the Seoul mayor, as the overall head of the local autonomous police, should have taken proper safety measures. Kim Gyo-heung, a Democratic Party member, said, "The autonomous police are responsible for citizens' order, safety, security, and traffic," and asked, "What did the top leader, the mayor, do?" Mayor Oh drew a line on direct responsibility, saying, "The autonomous police are a consensual administrative body that makes independent judgments and works autonomously." Lee pointed out, "The person ultimately responsible for the affairs of the Seoul autonomous police is the Seoul mayor," to which Mayor Oh replied, "The Autonomous Police Committee is legally defined to operate independently."

In response to a question from Park Sung-min, a member of the People Power Party, about "when the Seoul city first recognized the accident," Mayor Oh said, "The head of the Fire and Disaster Headquarters is in the position to be the first to dispatch to the scene," and added, "The first action taken by the city was that the Fire and Disaster Headquarters received the initial report, identified the situation, and issued dispatch orders to three fire stations."

Regarding a question from Song Jae-ho, a Democratic Party member, about his thoughts on a state audit, Mayor Oh stated, "I will comply as determined by the National Assembly."

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