Busan is good

Busan Metropolitan City Holds New Year’s Kickoff Ceremony, Emphasizing a “Leap Toward a Global Hub City”

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that it held a New Year’s kickoff ceremony at 9:00 a.m. today (the 2nd) in the City Hall Grand Auditorium to mark the start of work for the new year, as Busan welcomes 2026, the Year of Byeongo.

Prior to the ceremony, yesterday (the 1st), Mayor Park and senior city officials paid New Year’s tribute visits at Chungnyeolsa Shrine, the Chung-hon Memorial Tower, the United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Korea, and three other sacred sites.

The ceremony began with the screening of a video expressing Busan’s determination to build “a city where people would want to live even if reborn,” followed by awards for meritorious contributions to policy implementation and for top-performing departments, and concluded with the Mayor’s New Year’s address.

Around 700 people attended, including Mayor Park, senior city officials, heads of public corporations and agencies, and various award recipients.

The sequence of events was as follows:
• Opening → National Ceremony → Recitation of the Public Officials’ Charter → Video Screening → Awards Presentation → New Year’s Address → Choral Performance → Singing of the Busan Anthem → Closing

In his New Year’s address at the 2026 ceremony, Mayor Park said, “In this Year of the Red Horse, I hope Busan will deliver remarkable results as a Global Hub City, building on strong momentum and the energy of change, and that it will be a year that brings greater happiness to our citizens.”

He assessed that “over the past three years, the 8th popularly elected administration has pushed forward with fierce determination to fundamentally transform the city’s foundation, with the goals of becoming a ‘Global Hub City’ and building Busan into ‘a city where people would want to live even if reborn,’” adding that “through this process, we have confirmed Busan’s hope and potential.”

He then highlighted the city’s achievements centered on five key pillars—logistics, industry, finance, talent, and culture—saying, “Through the rapid推进 of the Gadeokdo New Airport, the next-generation Busan-style express rail system, and the attraction of advanced logistics companies, Busan is transforming into a future-oriented logistics hub.”

In particular, he emphasized, “With investment attraction expanding to a record-high 8 trillion won, and with both the number of regular wage workers and the employment rate reaching all-time highs, Busan’s economic fundamentals have clearly entered an upward phase.”

He also explained that in the finance and startup sectors, “through building a finance and startup ecosystem—including the Busan Startup Investment Agency, the Digital Asset Exchange (BDAN), and FLY ASIA—and through external evaluations such as ranking 24th in the Global Financial Centres Index and entering the top 20 in Asia for the global startup ecosystem, Busan is strengthening its position as a financial hub.”

Regarding achievements in culture, tourism, and sports, he stated, “The all-time record of nearly 3.5 million foreign tourists shows that Busan has firmly established itself as ‘a city people want to visit again,’” adding that “Korea’s first convergence-style festival, ‘Festival Siwol,’ the Seven Bridges Tour, the opening of the Busan Concert Hall, and the attraction of professional sports teams in every sport for the first time outside the Seoul metropolitan area have elevated Busan’s city brand to the next level.”

He further noted, “Through the successful hosting of major international events, including the APEC Energy Ministers’ Meeting and the Our Ocean Conference, we have left a lasting impression on the world that ‘when Busan delivers, it is truly different.’”

Mayor Park said, “The transformation into a Global Hub City ultimately aims to make citizens’ lives happier,” and introduced tangible policy outcomes that citizens can feel, including the 15-Minute City policy, the Busan-style integrated Neulbom policy, universal free education for children aged 3–5 at childcare centers, and rebounds in the birth rate and marriage rate.

He also added, “By addressing long-standing projects such as the groundbreaking of three bridges over the Nakdonggang River, diversification of water sources, designation of Geumjeongsan as a national park, redevelopment of the Suyeong Bay Yacht Stadium, and the modernization project for the Joint Fish Market, we are creating new growth engines that will open the future of Busan.”

In addition, Mayor Park stressed, “2026 must be a year in which Busan designs its future proactively rather than relying on the central government,” and said, “Busan should first present the blueprint for projects such as the Gadeokdo New Airport, an Arctic shipping route hub port, and a Northeast Asian logistics platform, and create a structure for horizontal cooperation with the central government.”

He particularly noted, “Building on the experience of Busan-initiated policies—such as the Busan-style RISE (Regional Innovation System & Education) project—being advanced into national policies and expanded nationwide, Busan must become a leading force driving global competitiveness.”

Finally, Mayor Park urged that “this year is the time to enhance the completeness of our policies and projects and to be even more faithful to the fundamentals that are directly tied to citizens’ lives and safety and to their livelihoods,” adding that “we must proactively explain our achievements to citizens and the media with objective figures and indicators to firmly build trust in city governance.”

He also instructed employees, saying, “As this is an important period in which the 8th and 9th popularly elected administrations intersect, please continue city governance without wavering, centered on the two pillars of a ‘Global Hub City’ and ‘a city where people would want to live even if reborn.’”