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From Population Decline Response to a City Growth Strategy: Busan Metropolitan City Establishes the “Second Basic Plan for Population Policy (2026–2030)”

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) has established and will actively implement the “Second Basic Plan for Population Policy (2026–2030),” investing a total of KRW 3.3416 trillion over the next five years with the goal of becoming a key population hub city outside the capital region.

This plan focuses on addressing structural demographic challenges such as low birth rates, youth outflow, and concentration in the capital region, while building a virtuous cycle in which growth and settlement across all life stages occur within the region.

In particular, the plan expands population policy from simple “population size management” to a “sustainable city growth strategy,” and broadens its scope from residents to include the active living population.

The basic plan is structured around the vision of “A Citizen Happiness City Connecting Generations and the Future,” and consists of three core strategies, nine action tasks, and 107 detailed projects: inclusive life-cycle growth support, creation of an attractive settlement and living environment, and expansion of a mega-regional innovation growth foundation.

[Inclusive Life-Cycle Growth Support]
This strategy comprehensively addresses policies across all life stages to establish a foundation where all generations can design stable lives and settle in Busan.

It connects all stages of life—from marriage, childbirth, employment, to old age—into a continuous system, reducing factors that lead to outmigration at each stage and encouraging local settlement.

By reducing the economic and psychological burden of childbirth and parenting, providing youth with integrated environments combining jobs, housing, and daily life infrastructure, and supporting older adults to continue economic activity and social participation, the plan aims to create a structure in which all generations act as drivers of urban growth.

[Creation of an Attractive Settlement and Living Environment]
Based on Busan’s unique assets such as its maritime, cultural, and tourism resources, this strategy aims to enhance urban vitality created jointly by resident and living populations.

It will actively develop Busan-style lifestyles by discovering region-specific cultural and tourism content and creating leisure and relaxation spaces within the city. Through the development of stay-oriented tourism content and the creation of workation clusters, the plan seeks to maximize the inflow of the living population.

Foreign nationals will also be regarded not as temporary visitors but as members of the local community, with strengthened settlement conditions across all aspects of daily life based on an integrated support system.

[Expansion of a Mega-Regional Innovation Growth Foundation]
By strengthening connections in industry, talent, and transportation across the broader region, this strategy aims to lead the development of surrounding areas in the southeastern region as a key growth axis outside the capital region.

Through expanded regional cooperation systems and transportation networks, a one-hour living zone will be established, linking commuting, education, and industrial activities. High-quality jobs will be expanded in strategic industries such as distributed energy, smart healthcare, future mobility, and power semiconductors.

Additionally, by fostering talent aligned with industrial demand and improving working conditions, the city will strengthen a talent base that grows and settles within the region.

Alongside these efforts, Busan Metropolitan City plans to expand citizen participation through the “2026 Busan Population Vitality Policy Idea Contest” and continue discovering policies with high public relevance.

Meanwhile, recent population trends in Busan are showing gradual improvement.

The number of births has turned upward from its lowest point in 2023, reaching 1,467 in January this year—an increase of 15.7 percent compared to 1,268 in the same month last year. Net outflow has also decreased, shifting to net inflow (157 people) in February, indicating changes in population indicators.

The city views these trends as early signals of policy effectiveness and plans to accelerate policy implementation so that these improvements lead to broader structural changes in the population.

Mayor Park Heong-joon stated, “The recent changes in population trends are the result of both policy responses and improvements in urban conditions working together,” adding, “We will expand population policy into a future strategy for the city and transform Busan from a city people leave into one they return to.”