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“Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities Who Want to Work—Now Is the Time”: Busan Metropolitan City Declares Vision for the “B-Il-Sacheonri Project”

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Busan Metropolitan City, led by Mayor Park Heong-joon, announced that it will hold a vision declaration ceremony for the “B-Il-Sacheonri Project” and launch the “Il-Sacheonri Group,” a job design task force for persons with disabilities, at 10:00 a.m. today (April 3) in the City Hall Grand Conference Hall to promote the creation of sustainable, high-quality jobs for persons with disabilities.

Approximately 130 participants will attend the event, including Vice Mayor for Future Innovation Seong Heui-yeob, Jeong Hyeon-min (Executive Vice Chairman of Busan Chamber of Commerce and Industry), Kim Gwang-su (Chairman of Busan Employers Federation), Kang Pil-hyeon (President of Design Council Busan), Kim Dae-gyu (Head of the Busan Regional Headquarters of the Korea Employment Agency for Persons with Disabilities), as well as organizations, associations, and facilities related to employment for persons with disabilities, such as the Busan Association of Welfare Centers for Persons with Disabilities and vocational rehabilitation facilities. Participants will come together to support the creation of jobs for persons with disabilities in Busan.

Through collaboration among public, private, industry, and academic sectors, the city will officially declare the vision of the “B-Il-Sacheonri Project,” which aims to identify Busan-style specialized jobs suited to the Fourth Industrial Revolution era and ensure that all persons with disabilities who wish to work can secure quality employment. In addition, the city will establish and regularly operate the “Il-Sacheonri Group,” a public-private collaborative system to implement the initiative, and will continue to work collectively to create sustainable, high-quality jobs.

The “Il-Sacheonri Group” is a public-private collaborative job design task force that aims to rapidly identify and connect suitable job roles between persons with disabilities seeking employment and companies, thereby creating sustainable, high-quality jobs.

Through regular meetings, the group will discuss measures to promote job creation for persons with disabilities and develop related policies. It will also operate an on-site support team composed of working-level staff from the city, the Korea Employment Agency for Persons with Disabilities, and the Chamber of Commerce, providing consulting services to companies wishing to hire persons with disabilities and to organizations that have not met mandatory employment rates.

In particular, the city plans to systematically identify Busan-specific future jobs suited to the Fourth Industrial Revolution, thereby reducing corporate burdens and enhancing employment retention, while also improving awareness of employment for persons with disabilities.

Jobs for persons with disabilities will be identified step by step in Busan’s specialized sectors, including artificial intelligence (AI), digital industries, culture, arts, tourism, maritime, and logistics.

While employment for persons with disabilities has traditionally been approached from a welfare-oriented perspective as support for those in need, the city will establish a structure that leads to actual job creation amid technological innovation and industrial transformation. This approach aims to reduce corporate burdens and support long-term coexistence between companies and employees with disabilities.

In addition, the city will sign a business agreement to pilot the establishment of a disability-specialized shared office for self-employed persons with disabilities and remote workers—the first such initiative among local governments nationwide.

The shared office for persons with disabilities, tentatively named “B (Busan Barrier Free)-Workstation,” will go beyond simply providing space. It will serve as a platform where persons with and without disabilities can interact, enhance productivity for workers with disabilities, promote entrepreneurship, and support companies that wish to hire persons with disabilities but face challenges in installing disability-friendly facilities. Through this, the city aims to improve employment for persons with disabilities and support ESG-based management.

As the first case of its kind among local governments nationwide, the space will be provided free of charge for three years by Fields Co., Ltd. as part of its social contribution efforts. The city will provide administrative support for its establishment and operation, the Korea Employment Agency for Persons with Disabilities will support tenant companies, and the Busan Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Busan Employers Federation will promote the initiative to businesses. Based on the results of this pilot project, the city and its partners plan to cooperate in expanding the program in the future.

Vice Mayor for Future Innovation Seong Heui-yeob stated, “Through cooperation among public, private, industry, and academic sectors, we will develop suitable job roles for persons with disabilities in Busan’s specialized fields for the Fourth Industrial Revolution era, enabling persons with disabilities to fully demonstrate their capabilities while establishing a structure in which companies practice ESG management.” He added, “We will build Busan into a happy city where all persons with disabilities who want to work can have good jobs.”