Busan is good

Busan City Earns Top Grade (SA) for Second Consecutive Year in Nationwide Assessment of Provincial Governors’ Pledge Implementation

내용

On May 13, Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that it had received the highest grade (SA) for the second year in a row in the “2025 Assessment of the Implementation and Information Disclosure of Provincial Governors’ Pledges” conducted by the Korea Manifesto Center.

This result holds significant meaning as it reaffirms, on a national level, Busan’s outstanding performance in delivering on pledges and its transparent administration under the 8th popularly elected government. The city had also achieved the highest grade (SA) in last year’s assessment, continuing its top-tier performance in pledge implementation since the inauguration of the current administration.

The Korea Manifesto Center conducted its evaluation by monitoring and analyzing publicly available information on local government websites from February 10 to April 30, including the content of election pledges, implementation plans, and progress reports. Busan received a score of 87 or higher, earning the top SA grade.

The evaluation was conducted using five main indicators related to pledge implementation under the 8th popularly elected administration:
• Completion of Pledges (100 points)
• Achievement of 2024 Goals (100 points)
• Resident Communication (100 points)
• Web-based Communication (Pass/Fail)
• Pledge Consistency (Pass/Fail)

The total score was calculated out of 100 based on absolute evaluation criteria derived from these indicators.

Notably, Busan earned balanced scores across all areas and received high praise for achieving substantial changes felt by citizens, high goal attainment rates, tangible outcomes, and overall excellence in communication and transparency.

Since the start of the 8th administration, the city has focused its administrative capacity on the systematic implementation of 108 pledges across six core municipal goals:
• Happy City for Citizens
• Global Hub City
• Start-up and Financial City
• Digital Innovation City
• Low-Carbon Green City
• Attractive City for Culture and Tourism

The city transparently discloses the progress of each pledge and related details on the official “Pledge Implementation” webpage (www.busan.go.kr/mayor/commitment01?mngId=1), allowing all citizens to monitor ongoing developments. This structured implementation and commitment to information disclosure played a key role in the city receiving high marks for both performance and transparency.

Additionally, Busan is making consistent efforts to regularly review and communicate the progress of its pledge projects. In April, marking the third anniversary of the 8th administration, the city held a review meeting to assess overall progress and identify areas needing improvement. Busan continues to manage the entire pledge cycle—from planning and implementation monitoring to disclosure of results—in a systematic manner to uphold its commitments to citizens.

Mayor Park Heong-joon stated,

“It is deeply meaningful that our relentless efforts to fulfill our promises to the citizens during the 8th administration have resulted in the highest (SA) grade for two consecutive years. We will continue to faithfully carry out our remaining pledges and further advance the momentum of change and innovation to build a city government that earns the trust of our citizens.”

He further added,

“Since pledge implementation is directly tied to citizens’ trust, we will see each and every pledge through to the end. We are committed to realizing tangible changes that citizens can feel—making Busan a happy city where people would choose to live again.”

Reference:
The Korea Manifesto Center annually assesses the performance of elected local government leaders using objective indicators to evaluate pledge fulfillment and levels of information disclosure for both metropolitan and basic local governments. Evaluation results are categorized into five grades: SA (highest), A, B, C, and D.