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“Clean Water Is a Fundamental Right”: Busan Metropolitan City Strengthens Commitment to Securing Clean Water on World Water Day

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that it held the “2026 Busan World Water Day” commemorative event on March 19 at 2:00 p.m. at the BEXCO convention hall and outdoor plaza.

The event, held under the theme “Clean Water, a Right for All,” brought together approximately 300 citizens and experts. It consisted of a commemorative ceremony for World Water Day, a citizen performance expressing the wish for clean water, and a subsequent expert policy forum.

The event was attended by Kim Kyung-duk, Vice Mayor for Administrative Affairs of Busan Metropolitan City, Kim Jwa-gwan, Chair of the National Water Management Committee, officials from the Ministry of Environment, academic experts, and numerous citizens including members of the Busan Clean Water Citizen Countermeasure Committee and the Busan Women’s Organizations Council.

The event was divided into two parts under the theme of “2026 World Water Day: Clean Water, a Right for All”: Part 1, the commemorative ceremony, and Part 2, the policy forum.

In Part 1, following commemorative and congratulatory remarks, a citizen performance expressing the wish for clean water was held. This was followed by Part 2, the policy forum on clean water.

In the commemorative ceremony, Vice Mayor for Administrative Affairs Kim Kyung-duk emphasized in his remarks that resolving drinking water issues has limitations if addressed solely at the local level, and that policy support and active involvement from the central government are essential.

In his congratulatory speech, Kim Jwa-gwan, Chair of the National Water Management Committee, stated that the Busan–Gyeongnam water supply cooperation project agreed upon 15 years ago could serve as a viable alternative, and pledged to faithfully perform a mediating role in resolving interregional water conflicts.

Following this, participants joined citizens at the outdoor plaza in a large banner performance expressing their wish for clean water, powerfully conveying Busan citizens’ long-standing aspiration for clean water.

In Part 2, the policy forum focused on improving the water quality of the Nakdong River and diversifying water sources, featuring expert presentations and discussions.

Kim Yang-hee, Senior Deputy Director at the Water Environment Policy Division of the Ministry of Environment, presented on measures to improve the water quality of the Nakdong River, followed by Professor Maeng Seung-gyu of Sejong University, who presented on ensuring safe drinking water through diversification of water sources.

During the discussion, participants from academia, government, local governments, research institutes, and civic groups shared a wide range of opinions and proposed policy directions on improving Nakdong River water quality and diversifying water sources.

Choi So-nam, Standing Representative of the Busan Clean Water Citizen Countermeasure Committee, stated that the Nakdong River water issue should not be viewed merely as a downstream regional conflict but as a national task related to water security, and emphasized that the diversification of water sources should be promoted as a key national policy. Lee Jun-gyeong, Representative of Life Web, stressed the need for the government to establish a dedicated planning group for improving Nakdong River water quality and to develop comprehensive measures.

Jang Jae-ok, Head of the Daegu Clean Water Highway Promotion Team, stated that Daegu would share objective verification results on riverbank filtration and underflow water development with Busan Metropolitan City. Professor Maeng Seung-gyu of Sejong University emphasized that, as more than 10 years have passed since discussions on diversifying water sources began, swift policy decisions are now needed to produce tangible solutions that citizens can feel.

Finally, Kim Eun-gyeong, Director General of Water Environment Policy at the Ministry of Environment, stated that improving the water quality of the Nakdong River is a national task directly linked to the health rights of Busan citizens, and pledged to concentrate policy efforts on fundamentally improving the water quality of the river’s main stream.

Vice Mayor for Administrative Affairs Kim Kyung-duk stated, “We will continue to cooperate with the central government and actively call for policy implementation to establish fundamental measures such as diversifying water sources and improving the water quality of the Nakdong River, and we will devote all policy efforts to securing clean water that citizens can safely drink.”