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Seoul Metropolitan Government Ordinance on the Operation of River Buses and Promotion of Distribution of Environment-Friendly Ships

Seoul Metropolitan Government Ordinance on the Operation of River Buses and Promotion of Distribution of Environment-Friendly Ships

Chapter 1. General Provisions Article 1 (Purpose) The purpose of this Ordinance is to contribute to the stable operation of river buses and the promotion of environment-friendly ships by regulating matters necessary for the operation of river buses and the promotion of environment-friendly ships.

Article 2 (Definitions) 1. “River bus” refers to a ferry business as defined in Article 2, Paragraph 2 of the Excursion Ship and Ferry Business Act that transports people or people and goods on the Hangang River using ships and ferry docks, and refers to a public transportation means as defined in Article 2, Paragraph 2 of the Act on the Development and Promotion of the Use of Public Transportation.
2. “River bus operator” (hereinafter referred to as “operator”) refers to a person who operates a river bus after receiving a license for a river bus business in accordance with Article 3, Paragraph 1 of the Excursion Ship and Ferry Business Act from the Seoul Metropolitan City Mayor (hereinafter referred to as the “Mayor”).
3. “Revenue” refers to the operating revenue and ancillary revenue of the business operator generated through the river bus business.
4. “Expenditures” refers to the operating expenses and ancillary expenses of the business operator incurred through the river bus business.
5. “Operating deficit” refers to the difference between expenditures and revenue.
6. “Environment-friendly ship” means a ship as defined in Article 2, Paragraph 3 of the Act on Promotion of Development and Distribution of Environment-Friendly Ships (hereinafter referred to as the “Act”).

Article 3 (Duties of the Mayor) (1) The Mayor shall endeavor to improve the convenience of public transportation for citizens by operating river buses.
(2) The Mayor must continuously manage and supervise the business operator to ensure the stable operation of river buses.
(3) The Mayor shall ensure that financial support for river buses is provided transparently and fairly.
(4) The Mayor shall make an effort to promote the use of environment-friendly ships.

Article 4 (Duties of Business Operators) (1) To enhance convenience and safety as public transportation, business operators must provide various convenience facilities and safety devices for river bus operations and make an effort to maintain them.
(2) Business operators must strive to improve the working environment and treatment of workers they employ, including sailors and employees.
(3) Business operators must conduct business faithfully in accordance with the policies of Seoul Metropolitan City (hereinafter referred to as the “City”).
(4) When receiving financial support, business operators must faithfully respond to the Mayor’s requests for data submission, investigations, audits, etc. to ensure that financial support funds are used and managed transparently and appropriately.

Article 5 (River Bus Routes and Operations) Chapter 2. River Bus Operation and Support


Article 6 (Obligations and Prohibited Acts of Business Operators) (1) Business operators must faithfully fulfill the following provisions.
1. Compliance with laws and regulations related to the pilotage business
2. Compliance with agreements on affairs concluded pursuant to Article 22
3. Securing convenience facilities to improve passenger service
4. Matters necessary for promoting the river bus project, such as river bus campaigns
(2) No business operator shall engage in any of the following conduct.
1. Unfair discrimination against a specific person or cargo
2. Receipt of additional fares or charges beyond the announced rates
3. Operation of a ship in violation of the established ship route and ship time due to reasons such as a lack of passengers

Article 7 (Measures to Promote Safe Operation) (1) The Mayor shall regularly inspect river buses to ensure safe operation and improve the convenience of use, and shall systematically manage and identify violations of laws and regulations by business operators, ship accidents, and safety accidents on ships, and further establish measures to prevent such accidents.
(2) Business operators must continuously educate and manage sailors and employees so that they can comply with laws and regulations related to safe operation.
(3) Business operators must continuously manage the safety of the ship by keeping the interior and exterior of the ship clean and checking the condition of fuel tanks, etc. of the ship.
(4) Business operators must ensure that functions, life-saving equipment, dock guidance, and fee payment devices on the ship for ship operation and service provision operate normally, and must provide regular training to crew members and employees so that they can operate them skillfully.
(5) If a business operator determines that any of the following items may endanger the safety of passengers or cause damage, they may refuse to transport the passenger, and if the passenger has already boarded, they may have the passenger disembark at a nearby dock.
1. If there is concern that it may affect hygiene and sanitation within the river bus
2. Failure to comply with the job-related demands of business owners, sailors, and employees, or obstructing the performance of duties through assault or threats
3. Acts that do not comply with the government and local government infectious disease response policies
4. Any act that causes harm to the public or passengers

Article 8 (Adjudication Support) (1) The Mayor may provide financial support to a business operator within the scope of the budget in any of the following cases.
1. In case of an operating loss in the river bus project
2. Other cases deemed necessary by the Mayor for river bus operation
(2) Specific details, such as the amount and method of financial support, shall be determined through an agreement with the business operator under Article 22 and confirmed through a resolution by the committee under Article 16.

Article 9 (External Audit)

Article 10 (Support for Environment-Friendly Ship Buyers and Owners) Chapter 3. Promotion of the Use of Environment-Friendly Ships

(1) The Mayor may, within the scope of the budget, provide a portion of the funds required for the purchase and renovation of environment-friendly ships to buyers and owners of environment-friendly ships.
(2) The support criteria and methods pursuant to Paragraph 1 shall be in accordance with Article 10 of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on Promotion of Development and Distribution of Environment-Friendly Ships (hereinafter referred to as the “Enforcement Decree”).

Article 11 (Support for Installers of Fuel Supply Facilities for Environment-Friendly Ships) (1) The Mayor may, within the scope of the budget, provide a portion of the funds required for the installation and operation of fuel supply facilities for environment-friendly ships that can be jointly used by multiple ships.
(2) The support criteria and methods pursuant to Paragraph 1 shall be in accordance with Article 11 of the Enforcement Decree.

Article 12 (Support for Switch to Environment-Friendly Ships, Etc.) (1) The Mayor may recommend to the owners of old ships whose age, etc. meet the standards set forth in the Enforcement Decree to scrap old ships and convert them into environment-friendly ships.
(2) The Mayor may provide necessary funds, etc., within the scope of the budget, to those who convert to environment-friendly ships.
(3) The support criteria and methods pursuant to Paragraph 2 shall comply with Article 12 of the Enforcement Decree.

Article 13 (Obligation to Purchase Environment-Friendly Ships) The Mayor and heads of public corporations established by cities in accordance with the Local Public Enterprises Act, and heads of municipally invested or invested institutions in accordance with the Act on the Operation of Local Government-Invested or -Funded Institutions, shall purchase environment-friendly ships unless there are exceptional circumstances as stipulated in Article 4 of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on Promotion of Development and Distribution of Environment-Friendly Ships.

Article 14 (Opening of Environment-Friendly Ship Fuel Supply Facilities) The Mayor may open environment-friendly ship fuel supply facilities built, operated, and supported by the City to the extent that it does not interfere with the performance of duties or security, and may disclose information such as the location, opening hours, and conditions of use of the opened fuel supply facilities.

Article 15 (Collection of Fees for Using Environment-Friendly Ship Fuel Supply Facilities) (1) The Mayor may collect a fee from persons using the environment-friendly marine fuel supply facilities owned by the City.
(2) Matters necessary for implementation, such as the amount of usage fees and collection methods pursuant to Article 1, shall be determined by regulations.

Article 16 (Establishment and Function of the Committee) Chapter 4. Operation of the Committee, Etc.

1. Matters concerning adjudication support under Article 8
2. Matters concerning support for environment-friendly ships pursuant to Articles 10, 11, and 12
3. Matters concerning the collection of fees for the use of environment-friendly ship fuel supply facilities pursuant to Article 15
4. Other matters deemed necessary by the Mayor in relation to the operation of river buses and the distribution of environment-friendly ships

Article 17 (Committee Composition and Operation) (1) The Committee shall be composed of no more than seven (7) members, including one (1) Chairperson and one (1) Vice Chairperson, taking gender into consideration.
(2) The Chairperson shall serve as the head of the Future Hangang River Headquarters, and the Vice Chairperson shall be elected from among the members.
(3) The members shall be appointed or commissioned by the Mayor from among public officials of Grade 3 or higher in charge of Hangang River management, members of the Seoul Metropolitan City Council, and persons who major in fields related to transportation, environment-friendly energy, ships, economy, or accounting and who hold or have held positions equivalent to associate professors or higher at universities or accredited research institutes.
(4) The term of office of a commissioned member shall be two (2) years but may be extended only once, and the term of office of a supplementary member shall be the remaining term of office of the predecessor. However, the term of office of a member who is a public official shall be the period of their tenure in that position.
(5) The Chairperson shall represent the Committee and oversee Committee affairs, and the Vice Chairperson shall assist the Chairperson and act on behalf of the Chairperson when the Chairperson is unable to perform their duties due to unavoidable circumstances.
(6) The Chairperson shall convene meetings of the Committee and serve as the Chair of those meetings.
(7) Meetings of the Committee shall be opened with the attendance of a majority of the registered members, and resolutions shall be made with the consent of a majority of the members present.
(8) For members who are not public officials among the members attending the Committee, stipends and travel expenses may be paid within the scope of the budget in accordance with the Seoul Metropolitan Government Ordinance on Payment of Committee Stipends and Travel Expenses.
(9) The duration of the Committee shall be five (5) years from the date of enforcement of this Ordinance.
(10) The dismissal, recusal, avoidance, evasion of members, and other matters regarding the committee that are not provided for in this Ordinance shall be governed by the Seoul Metropolitan Government Ordinance on the Establishment and Operation of Various Committees.

Chapter 5. Requests for Corrective Action, Etc. Article 18 (Evaluation of Business Operators, etc.)
(1) The Mayor may regularly conduct evaluations of business operators to confirm compliance with Articles 6 and 7, improve the level of service to passengers, and address inconveniences.
(2) The details necessary to conduct the evaluation pursuant to Paragraph 1 shall be separately determined by the Mayor.

Article 19 (Investigation) The Mayor may, if necessary, request a business operator to submit data on all matters related to financial support under Article 8 or have their public officials visit the site to conduct an investigation.

Article 20 (Request for Correction) (1) If any unfair matters are discovered as a result of the evaluation under Article 18 or the investigation under Article 19, the Mayor may request the relevant business operator to take corrective action within a specified period.
(2) If a business operator has a legitimate reason for not complying with the corrective action request pursuant to Paragraph 1, they may submit materials for explanation within ten (10) days from the date of receiving the request for corrective action.
(3) The Mayor may review the materials for explanation, etc. submitted pursuant to Paragraph 2, and if there is a justifiable reason, accept them; if not, they may request re-correction within a specified period.

Article 21 (Suspension and Recovery of Adjudication Support Funds) (1) The Mayor may suspend payment of all or part of the financial support to a business operator falling under any of the following items.
1. In cases where it becomes possible to operate without financial support for operating losses due to increased demand, etc.
2. In cases where adjudication is no longer needed due to changes in circumstances, etc.
3. In cases of failure to comply with the correction or re-correction request under Article 20
(2) In the case of subparagraph 3 of Paragraph 1, the business agreement concluded pursuant to Article 22 may be terminated.
(3) If a business operator receives financial support through fraudulent means or uses it fraudulently, the Mayor may recover all or part of the financial support.

Article 22 (Affairs Agreement) The Mayor may conclude a separate affairs agreement with the business operator regarding related details to the operation of river buses.

Article 23 (Application Mutatis Mutandis) Matters regarding adjudication support not provided for in this Ordinance shall be governed by the Seoul Metropolitan Government Ordinance on the Management of Local Subsidies, etc., by application mutatis mutandis.

Article 24 (Enforcement Rule) Other matters required to enforce this Ordinance shall be prescribed as regulations.

Addendum <No. 9061, Dec. 29, 2023>
This Ordinance shall enter into force on the date of its promulgation.