Busan is good

Busan Metropolitan City Mobilizes All Efforts to Stabilize Prices for Chuseok: Expanding Supply of Holiday Goods, Waiving Road Tolls, and Enhancing Benefits for the Dongbaekjeon Local Currency

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Busan Metropolitan City Mayor Park Heong-joon announced that, ahead of the Chuseok holiday, the city will mobilize all available measures to stabilize people’s livelihoods and consumer prices.

First, in coordination with the government’s comprehensive measures, the city will provide direct support through supply expansion and freezing public utility rates.

The central government will supply 172,000 tons of holiday goods and offer KRW 90 billion in discount support, enabling gift sets of apples, pears, and Korean beef to be sold at up to 50 percent lower prices. Additionally, import tariff quotas will be applied to six types of food ingredients, including frozen strawberries, to reduce production costs.

Busan Metropolitan City will secure supplies of apples, pears, beef, and eggs at 1.9 times the normal amount, and pork and chicken at 1.1 times the normal amount. For seafood such as pollock, mackerel, squid, hairtail, yellow croaker, and anchovies, supply will be doubled compared to usual.

In line with the government’s announcement of toll-free travel on national expressways from October 4 to 7, the city will also waive tolls on seven toll roads operated by Busan and freeze retail charges for city gas, thereby reducing the transportation and energy burden for homecoming travelers and citizens.

To ease financial burdens on citizens and stimulate consumption for economic revitalization, a variety of events will be held. From October 1 to 5, rebate events will be held in 18 traditional markets selling agricultural and livestock products and 28 seafood markets. Shoppers who purchase fresh domestic agricultural and livestock products will receive up to a 30 percent refund in Onnuri gift certificates.

<Rebate Benefits for Agricultural, Livestock, and Seafood Products>

• ●Purchases between KRW 30,000 and KRW 60,000: KRW 10,000 refund

• ●Purchases over KRW 60,000: KRW 20,000 refund

Direct trade markets will also be held at City Hall, Busanjin-gu Office, Haeundae-gu, and Yeonje-gu, offering discounts on seasonal agricultural products and holiday gift sets.

<Planned Direct Trade Market Events> - September 18, 25: City Hall Thursday Market – Discounts on agricultural and livestock products and giveaways - September 29–30: Busanjin-gu – Discounts on livestock, dried persimmons, rice, and other local products - September 26–28: Haeundae-gu (Gunam-ro) – Discounts on livestock, apples, rice, and other local products - September 19–20: Yeonje-gu (Oncheoncheon) – Discounts on livestock, dried persimmons, grapes, and other local products

Furthermore, the rebate rate for the Dongbaekjeon local currency will be raised from 7 percent to 13 percent, enhancing consumer benefits.

Price stabilization measures will also extend to personal service sectors such as dining and lodging. In addition to supporting public utility charges and goods, extra budget will be secured to cover tax service fees, reducing management costs for “Good Price” businesses.

From September to October, the city will focus on promoting cafes and bakeries to diversify affordable business categories, thereby enhancing Busan’s competitiveness as a tourist city and fostering a “Good Price Busan” where citizens and visitors can feel the benefits.

On July 1, the city established the “Agricultural Product Supply and Demand Stabilization Task Force (TF)” to proactively and systematically respond to external factors affecting prices, such as climate change, wildfires, and rising production costs.

In addition, on September 26, a Chuseok Holiday Price Stabilization Meeting will be held, with about 20 representatives from related institutions—including the Bank of Korea Busan Headquarters, Busan Regional Tax Office, Fair Trade Commission, major supermarkets, and traditional markets—attending to discuss cooperative measures for stabilizing prices.

Lee Jun-seung, Vice Mayor for Administrative Affairs, stated, “We will make every effort to stabilize prices during the holiday season by closely monitoring price trends of key holiday products and thoroughly maintaining the supply and demand response system, so that citizens may enjoy a warm and worry-free Chuseok.”