Land Ministry publishes Ulsan tram audit petition signed by 502 residents

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (국토교통부) has published a resident audit petition signed by 502 Ulsan citizens demanding scrutiny of the Ulsan urban rail Line 1 tram project. The petition, carried in notice 국토교통부공고 제2026-1192호, appears in the Official Gazette (관보) issue 제21324호 of 17 September 2026 and opens a public inspection of the signatory list. The ministry’s Audit Officer (감사담당관실) is the body that must now verify the signatures and process the request.

The petition and its legal basis

The publication is made under Article 21(5) of the Local Autonomy Act (지방자치법), which requires the competent ministry to publish the content of a resident audit request so that interested parties can inspect the list of signatories and object to any signature they dispute. The notice is signed by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and dated 17 September 2026. The same publication procedure was used on 28 August 2026 for a separate petition concerning Incheon.

The petition is filed by representative Kim Hong-do (김홍도), whose registered address is 103 Geumgok-gil, Samdong-myeon, Ulju-gun, Ulsan Metropolitan City (울산광역시 울주군 삼동면 금곡길 103).

What the petitioners allege

The stated purpose of the request is an audit of whether contracts were signed and construction started before the statutory procedures for the Ulsan urban rail Line 1 (울산도시철도 1호선) tram were completed, and whether the total project cost was calculated properly. The petitioners list four grounds:

• Vehicle manufacturing and purchase contracts, and payments made, before approval of the project plan under Article 7 of the Urban Railroad Act (도시철도법 제7조) and completion of the environmental assessment.
• Commencement of construction and spending on the priority construction section.
• Determination of the total project cost and compilation of the budget.
• Establishment of traffic measures for Munsu-ro (문수로).

Signatures, inspection and objections

The petition carries 502 signatures — 283 electronic and 219 handwritten. The signatory list is open for inspection from 17 to 28 September 2026 at:

• The Audit Officer’s office of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Government Sejong Complex, Building 5, Room 624.
• The civil affairs office of Ulsan Metropolitan City and the civil affairs offices of eup, myeon and dong administrative welfare centres.

Anyone who disputes a signature may file a written objection during the same inspection period, using the form kept at the inspection sites and submitting it to the ministry’s Audit Officer. Enquiries can be directed to the Audit Officer’s office by telephone on 044-201-3120 or by fax on 044-201-5505.

Why it matters

The publication converts a citizen complaint into a formal, time-limited administrative procedure: the ministry must now decide whether the 502 signatures stand and whether the audit request proceeds. For Ulsan residents, the outcome bears directly on the tram line’s schedule and on the traffic arrangements for Munsu-ro; for the national budget, it puts the determination of the total project cost and the spending already committed to vehicles and early works under official review. The 12-day inspection window ending 28 September 2026 is the only point at which signatures can be challenged before the ministry rules on the request.

Source: 관보 (Official Gazette of the Republic of Korea), 제21324호, 17 September 2026, notices (공고), p. 51 (official reference: 국토교통부공고 제2026-1192호).