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Warm Winter Together: Busan Metropolitan City Implements the 2025 Winter Season Livelihood Stabilization Comprehensive Plan

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that it will implement the 2025 Winter Season Livelihood Stabilization Comprehensive Plan to build a warm and secure winter that all citizens can share.

This plan aims to provide practical support that citizens can tangibly experience, promoting 29 major initiatives and 63 detailed tasks across four sectors—welfare, safety, health, and daily life.

[Welfare Sharing] Strengthened support for stabilizing the basic livelihood of vulnerable groups by identifying households at risk and high-risk individuals, thereby reinforcing the social safety net.

To address the blind spots of care that worsen during winter, the city will conduct focused inspections of high-risk groups using the “Happy Sound (e-Happiness)” system, which analyzes 47 types of crisis-related data. In addition, public-private human safety networks—such as 200 Visiting Health and Welfare Teams and 7, 79, and 169 local “Together-Care Volunteers”—will actively identify those at risk.

To promote livelihood stability for crisis-affected households, the city will provide emergency welfare assistance, including:
living expenses of up to 730,000 won per household;
housing support of up to 398,000 won;
fuel assistance of up to 150,000 won;
and medical support of up to 3 million won.

Furthermore, Busan Metropolitan City will enhance welfare information services using the “Safe Busan” website and the “Self-Reliance Honeycomb” chatbot. In the event of disasters, the city will support daily accommodation costs of 18,000 won for affected citizens and provide essential relief items such as blankets, rice, food supplies, and detergents.

In addition, the city will support private fundraising efforts, including the “Hope Sharing Campaign,” while expanding free meal services for seniors, persons with disabilities, and homeless individuals, as well as supplying winter necessities to promote a warm and caring atmosphere throughout the community.

[Citizen Safety] Building a preventive safety management system against winter disasters—including heavy snow, cold waves, and winter wildfires—and strengthening pre-emptive inspections to ensure citizen safety.

To prepare for heavy snow and cold waves, the city has allocated 4.6 billion won from the Disaster Management Fund to districts and counties in advance, while securing 1,094 tons of de-icing agents, 368 snow-removal machines, and 4,457 grit storage facilities.

In the event of a disaster, the city will hold pre-emptive situation assessment meetings and operate the Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters based on the crisis level, ensuring rapid mobilization of personnel and equipment.

For wildfire prevention, the city will operate 16 wildfire prevention units, deploying 647 wildfire monitors and securing 36,824 pieces of wildfire-response equipment.

Additionally, Busan Metropolitan City will conduct safety inspections for fire-prone facilities and construction sites, and will operate crowd-management systems for large events and festivals—including year-end and sunrise celebrations—to eliminate risk factors in advance and create an environment where citizens feel safe.

[Citizen Health] Strengthening prevention and management of cold-related illnesses and infectious diseases among vulnerable groups, while improving the safety of food, drinking water, and air quality during winter.

To prevent cold-related illnesses, the city will operate an emergency room surveillance system and mobilize 16 teams (130 personnel) of dedicated visiting health managers and 1,300 personnel at HAHA Village Health Centers to create a continuous community care environment.

The city will also intensively manage vaccinations for seniors aged 65 and older, maintain an all-season response system for infection-prone facilities, and enforce special quarantine measures against highly pathogenic avian influenza.

In preparation for kimchi-making season and year-end gatherings, Busan Metropolitan City will strengthen food hygiene inspections and foodborne illness prevention. The city will also implement the third Seasonal Fine Dust Management Program until March 2026 to reduce high levels of particulate matter.

[Daily Life Support] Stabilizing the supply and prices of agricultural and fisheries products to ease household burdens during winter, while resolving daily inconveniences related to sanitation and water systems.

The city will operate a three-member Kimchi-Vegetable Supply Stabilization Task Force and a 15-member Fisheries Price Stabilization Team at 16 districts and counties to monitor supply and price trends for agricultural and fisheries goods.

Additionally, Busan Metropolitan City will establish plans for winter natural disaster waste disposal and strengthen winter sanitation and water system management—covering water supply, sewage systems, and wastewater quality—to minimize citizen inconvenience.

The city will also support culture and sports programs for vulnerable groups and activate local tourism during the off-season through various tourism promotion events, contributing to revitalization of the regional economy.

Mayor Park Heong-joon stated, “Due to recent extreme climate conditions and rising heating costs, the hardships faced by vulnerable groups may worsen. Through this comprehensive winter season stabilization plan, we will take meticulous care to ensure the safety of every citizen so that everyone can enjoy a warm and secure winter together.”