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Fresher and Safer! Busan Cooperative Fish Market Modernization Project to Break Ground Within This Year

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that, in order to begin construction of the “Busan Cooperative Fish Market Modernization Project” within this year and ensure smooth progress, the city established and has been holding regular meetings of the “Design Supplementary Council” since August. The final agreement was reached on September 12.

The “Design Supplementary Council” consists of the Director General of the Ocean and Fisheries Bureau, the Head of the Construction Headquarters, the CEO of the Busan Cooperative Fish Market Corporation, the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives and five local fisheries cooperatives, the Director of Distribution Policy at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, and HJ Heavy Industries Consortium. The council met weekly from August 14 to September 4.

The council collected the market’s operational requests and reviewed each agenda item in terms of compliance with relevant laws and feasibility within the overall budget. Decisions were then prioritized according to the project’s core values.

The core values of the project are to deliver fresh, hygienic, and safe seafood quickly to citizens and to enhance the value of seafood by preserving freshness and improving marketability.

Considering the urgent project timeline, including the aim to break ground within this year, key market requests—such as widening the auction hall and adjusting column spacing for efficient operations—will be actively reflected in the design.

The construction consortium HJ Heavy Industries, selected through a technical proposal bidding process, will complete the design documents and contract procedures by November. Following permit approvals, full-scale construction will begin at the end of the year.

To maintain market operations during construction, work will be minimized during peak fishing seasons (October to March) and instead carried out in phases during off-seasons.

Phase 1 will cover the main building on the right side and the right breakwater; Phase 2 will include office facilities and the central auction hall; and Phase 3 will involve the main building on the left side and the left breakwater.
(Breakwater: a structure protruding perpendicularly or diagonally from the shore, serving as a berthing quay for fishing vessels at the market.)

Once completed, the modernization project will replace the existing open-air facilities—which exposed seafood to room temperature and posed hygiene risks—with an enclosed auction hall that ensures low-temperature, hygienic management of marine products.

The “Busan Cooperative Fish Market Modernization Project” aims to renew the market, originally built in 1973, by addressing aging facilities and unsanitary auction conditions.

The project will cover a site area of 61,971 square meters with a total project cost of KRW 241.2 billion (KRW 165.5 billion from the national government, KRW 49.9 billion from the city, and KRW 25.8 billion from the market’s own funds) to create a safe, advanced fish market.

Jung Yeon-song, CEO of the Cooperative Fish Market, stated, “By reflecting the operator’s efficiency needs in the design and beginning construction within the year, I hope the market will become a hub of distribution innovation that provides citizens with safe seafood. We will also continue active communication with market stakeholders, including wholesalers, the stevedores’ union, and shipping companies, to ensure smooth project progress.”

Mayor Park Heong-joon remarked, “We will do our utmost to complete the Busan Cooperative Fish Market Modernization Project promptly to establish a future-oriented fishery distribution system and supply fresh, safe seafood to citizens. By building an innovative distribution structure, Busan will serve as Korea’s leading hub for distribution and drive the advancement of the fisheries industry.”