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Busan Metropolitan City Collaborates with Experts in the Seoul Metropolitan Area to Push Forward the Designation of the Nakdong River Estuary as a National Urban Park

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Busan Metropolitan City Mayor Park Heong-joon announced today (28th) that the City will hold an advisory meeting with experts in the fields of environment and landscape architecture from the Seoul metropolitan area at the office of Environment & Landscape Architecture Publishing in Seoul at 10:00 a.m. The meeting will serve as the first domestic advisory session on the designation of the Nakdong River Estuary as a National Urban Park.

○ The meeting will be attended by prominent academic and professional experts, including Professor An Seung-hong of Hankyong National University (Chair of the Special Committee on National Urban Parks, Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture); Professor Jin Jung-wook of Seoul National University; Professor Choi Hye-young of Sungkyunkwan University; Professor Kim Young-min of the University of Seoul; Professor Min Byung-wook of Kyung Hee University; CEO Lee Ho-young of HLD; and Director Jin Hyeong of Seoahn Landscape Architecture Design. A total of eight experts will discuss the designation criteria and strategies for activation.

Following the passage of the amended “Act on Urban Parks and Green Areas” in the National Assembly on August 4, Busan Metropolitan City has begun full-scale preparations for the designation of a National Urban Park.

○ Under this amendment, the required minimum designation area has been eased from 3 million square meters to 1 million square meters. In addition, the designation process has been simplified from requiring deliberation by the State Council to deliberation by the Central Urban Park Committee. The amendment will take effect in the second half of 2026, at which time intense competition for national designations is expected nationwide.

○ In response, Busan Metropolitan City plans to proactively gather expert opinions and expand consensus and support across the nation, beyond Busan, to secure leadership in the designation of the National Urban Park.

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Going forward, the City will strengthen technical cooperation with the academic community to transition the Nakdong River Estuary, which holds high academic and educational value, into a nationally managed conservation system.

○ Building on this advisory meeting, the City will continue discussions on conceptual planning, designation criteria, and activation strategies, thereby making concrete preparations for the National Urban Park designation.

○ The Nakdong River Estuary is a unique estuarine delta and wintering site for migratory birds in Korea, home to more than 480 plant species, and an area of outstanding natural, historical, and cultural conservation value. It is also directly connected to the new government’s national policy tasks, such as the “Four Major River Re-naturalization” initiative and biodiversity restoration, making it an optimal site.

○ Meanwhile, the City established the Pan-Citizen Promotion Headquarters in September last year and has since engaged in citizen-led discussions through 15 rounds of symposia, forums, workshops, and public-private meetings during the basic planning stage.

Ahn Cheol-soo, Director General of the Green City Bureau of Busan Metropolitan City, stated, “The Nakdong River Estuary National Urban Park will serve as a sustainable model that balances natural conservation with park utilization. By expanding the scope of academic cooperation to the Seoul metropolitan area, we will increase interest and further solidify our leading position in the designation of Korea’s first National Urban Park.”