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Busan Metropolitan City Wins Prime Minister’s Award at the 2025 Data Industry Promotion Awards for Achievements in Building a Data Industry Ecosystem

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that it will receive the Prime Minister’s Award (Outstanding Institution) in recognition of its contributions to the development of the data industry at the “2025 Data Industry Promotion Awards Ceremony,” hosted by the Ministry of Science and ICT and held at COEX at 1:25 p.m. today (the 18th).

Each year, the Ministry of Science and ICT selects and honors organizations and individuals that have made significant contributions to the advancement of the data industry and the promotion of data openness and distribution, including achievements in data technology and service innovation, revitalization of data businesses, resolution of social issues through data, and social contributions.

This year’s award officially recognizes Busan Metropolitan City’s policy achievements in building a regional data industry ecosystem, including fostering data-specialized companies, nurturing practice-oriented data professionals, and formulating strategies to support corporate digital transformation.

Since 2022, Busan Metropolitan City has promoted the “Data Industry Innovation Ecosystem Development Project,” systematically strengthening the foundation for data utilization by establishing industry hub data analysis environments, providing professional consulting support, and operating the Busan Big Data Innovation Center and the Pseudonymized Data Utilization Support Center.

In addition, the City has continuously hosted industry–academia–research cooperation forums and academic conferences, making concerted efforts to discover collaborative projects based on governance grounded in cooperation among industry, academia, and research institutions.

In particular, through initiatives such as the “Data Global Hackathon” and the “Innovative Growth Challenge,” Busan Metropolitan City has fostered data-related startups and specialized companies, while also focusing on cultivating convergence-oriented, practice-ready professionals by operating hands-on industry–academia–research-linked training programs centered on real industrial and on-site challenges.

Furthermore, through data analysis utilization support programs for small and medium-sized enterprises, the City provides customized on-site consulting services, and actively supports data-driven entrepreneurship and corporate growth by hosting public data utilization startup competitions.

At the same time, Busan Metropolitan City is accelerating efforts to build a Busan-style integrated data platform and establish a data distribution foundation in order to promote regional data utilization and public–private collaboration.

To lead data- and artificial intelligence (AI)-based transformation grounded in public–private collaboration, the City has established the Busan-style integrated data platform, the regional data hub “Big-Data Wave,” which has been in full operation since July 2025.

In addition, as the first local government in the nation to do so, Busan Metropolitan City has established a “Data Market,” a data distribution infrastructure that responds to data utilization demand from companies and universities and enables the secure trading of privately held (corporate) data. By encouraging voluntary market participation, the City is fostering a data collaboration ecosystem jointly driven by the public and private sectors.

Moreover, Busan Metropolitan City is actively supporting rational, data-driven policy decision-making by producing and improving statistics that reflect social and economic changes.

Each year, the City produces statistics such as the Establishment Census, the Mining and Manufacturing Survey, and district- and county-level Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP), providing fundamental information on economic and industrial conditions. In addition, as the only metropolitan city or province nationwide to do so, Busan Metropolitan City continuously provides data related to regionally specialized industries and the local economy by producing statistics such as the Marine Industry Survey, the Environmental Industry Survey, and quarterly statistics on small business operators.

Jeong Na-young, Director General of the Future Technology Strategy Bureau of Busan Metropolitan City, stated, “This Prime Minister’s Award is the result of external recognition of our City’s sustained efforts to foster the data industry and build a robust ecosystem,” adding, “Going forward, we will continue to do our utmost to strengthen regional industrial competitiveness and enhance citizens’ quality of life through data-driven administration and the revitalization of the data industry.”