Seoul City Audit Begins: Han River Bus and Land Permit System Under Scrutiny [2025 Audit]
Parliamentary Audit by Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee on October 20
All-Out Battle Between Ruling and Opposition Parties Ahead of Next Year's Local Elections
Focus on Han River Bus and Lifting of Land Transaction Permit System
The final parliamentary audit of Oh Sehoon’s term as the 8th popularly elected Mayor of Seoul has begun. The Democratic Party of Korea has announced plans to scrutinize key policies strongly associated with Mayor Oh, such as the lifting of the land transaction permit system and the Han River Bus project. However, in reality, both the ruling and opposition parties are gearing up for an all-out battle to secure the Seoul mayoralty ahead of next year’s local elections.
The National Assembly’s Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee began its audit of the Seoul Metropolitan Government at City Hall at 10 a.m. on October 20. The Public Administration and Security Committee will conduct its audit three days later, on October 23.
This year’s audit is focusing on major initiatives spearheaded by Mayor Oh. The recently suspended Han River Bus service will be addressed by both the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee and the Public Administration and Security Committee. The latter has summoned as witnesses the CEO of Ecruise, which operates the Han River Bus, the CEO of Han River Bus, and the CEOs of Gadeok Heavy Industries and Eunsung Heavy Industries, which were responsible for shipbuilding. After officially launching operations on September 18, the Han River Bus experienced repeated minor malfunctions, including electrical system failures and rudder issues. As a result, a one-month “no-passenger trial operation” is currently underway to ensure stable service.
The Democratic Party has devised a strategy to link Mayor Oh directly to the real estate issues that are most sensitive to the public. They argue that Mayor Oh’s misjudgment was the starting point for the ongoing volatility in housing prices, despite continued government measures. The party is preparing to rigorously examine his policy decision-making regarding the lifting and re-designation of the land transaction permit system, as well as the aftereffects on the real estate market. In his opening remarks, Mayor Oh stated, “Through the first and second phases of the Fast-Track Integrated Planning, we will accelerate administrative support,” and added, “We will closely examine the impact of the government’s recent real estate regulations on redevelopment projects, and actively communicate with the government, associations, and residents to find practical solutions on the ground.”
The Youth Safe Housing project, which has faced controversy over unpaid deposits, is also a key issue. This project is a rental housing initiative jointly provided by the city and private developers to ease the housing burden for young people and newlyweds. Recently, some private developers failed to pay construction costs to contractors, resulting in buildings being subject to compulsory auction and putting tenants at risk of not recovering their deposits.
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In the Public Administration and Security Committee, political broker Myung Taegyun has been summoned as a witness. Mayor Oh faces allegations that, during the 2021 Seoul mayoral by-election, he received unpublished poll results from the Future Korea Research Institute, operated by Myung, and that Kim Hanjung, known as a supporter of Mayor Oh, covered the associated costs. Kim Byungmin, Deputy Mayor for Political Affairs of Seoul, commented, “There are growing concerns that the policy debate regarding Seoul is disappearing, and that this is turning into a mudslinging election.”
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