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Busan Metropolitan City to Hold the 9th General Assembly of the Participatory Budget Committee in 2025

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that it will hold the “9th General Assembly of the Participatory Budget Committee” today (29th) at 3:00 p.m. at the Busan City Hotel Convention Hall to finalize the selection of participatory budget projects for 2026.

The first part of the General Assembly will include a report on the progress of the 2025 participatory budget projects, the announcement of the results of the citizen preference survey on participatory budget projects, and the final deliberation on the projects to be included in the 2026 budget.

The second part will feature a special lecture and side events aimed at promoting communication among committee members and fostering unity within the committee.

Through this General Assembly, a total of 91 participatory budget projects amounting to 8 billion KRW will undergo final deliberation. The results will be reflected in a citizens’ opinion report, which will be submitted to the Busan Metropolitan Council in November.

The projects subject to final deliberation include: ▲15 city-level participation projects worth 3.4 billion KRW ▲46 district-level participation projects worth 3.2 billion KRW ▲30 cooperative projects worth 1.4 billion KRW, totaling 91 projects worth 8 billion KRW.

To select participatory budget projects for 2026, the City collected resident proposals until March this year, followed by reviews by relevant departments from April to May, and deliberations through district and county meetings as well as the subcommittees and steering committee of the Participatory Budget Committee from June to July.

In particular, to better concretize the resident-proposed projects, the City expanded on-site inspections by the committee this year to ensure that deliberations could be carried out in a substantive manner. To enhance the committee’s deliberation and adjustment functions, evaluation directions and project selection criteria were established, leading to the discovery of effective projects that reflect the voices of residents.

The committee visited 17 sites that required on-site verification and thoroughly reviewed the projects, which is an increase of 14 sites compared to the previous year.

This year’s participatory budget prioritized urgent projects directly related to residents’ safety, community sports facilities that residents can experience firsthand, and pilot projects incorporating residents’ ideas.

Furthermore, in order to gauge citizen preferences regarding participatory budget projects, a survey was conducted for three weeks from August 4 to August 22. The top three projects in each category were announced at the General Assembly.

Citizen Survey Results

• ●City-level participation type
  (1st) Installation of crime-prevention closed-circuit televisions (CCTVs)
  (2nd) Installation of air blowers for lotus ponds at Hwamyeong Ecological Park
  (Joint 3rd) Introduction of an artificial intelligence (AI)-based customized book recommendation service
  Operation of career experience programs at Busan Children’s Complex Cultural Space Deullak Nallak

• ●District-level participation type
  (1st) Renovation of restrooms at Sarang Park, Geumgok-dong, Buk-gu
  (2nd) Creation of a “photo zone” attraction on Dadaepo Beach Road, Saha-gu
  (3rd) Improvement of roadway (landscape) lighting at Songdo Beach, Seo-gu

• ●Cooperative type
  (1st) Creation of a youth shelter at Guduk Cultural Park, Seo-gu
  (2nd) Seo-gu Original Downtown Children’s Happiness Project [Pop-up Playground]
  (3rd) Installation of smart traffic lights in Busanjin-gu to enhance safety with resident participation

Kim Kyung-tae, Director General of the Planning and Coordination Office, stated, “The Participatory Budget System is a system designed to enhance transparency and accountability in financial management and ensure fairness in budget allocation by guaranteeing resident participation in the budgeting process. The City will continue its efforts to ensure that urgent projects with high levels of resident demand are incorporated into the budget and developed into policies.” He also encouraged active interest and participation from residents in the Participatory Budget System.