Busan is good

Busan Metropolitan City Launches Dedicated Task Force Teams to Strengthen the Execution Capacity of the Ninth Elected Municipal Administration

내용

Busan Metropolitan City, led by Mayor Chun Jae-soo, announced that it will establish four new task force teams effective July 8 to accelerate initiatives that citizens can directly experience in livelihood recovery and future growth immediately following the launch of the ninth elected municipal administration. The new organizations are the Commercial District Revitalization Task Force under the Small Business Support Division, the Tourism Economy Revitalization Task Force under the Tourism Policy Division, the Livelihood Economy Investigation Task Force under the Special Judicial Police Division, and the North Port Redevelopment Innovation Task Force under the North Port Redevelopment Promotion Division.

This measure follows the mayor's first official approval—the "100-Day Emergency Measures for People's Livelihoods in Busan"—and is intended to establish a highly capable, agile, execution-oriented organizational system that can respond swiftly to urgent issues.

The City determined that responding to complex challenges, including revitalizing local commercial districts, promoting consumption and tourism, overcoming the livelihood economy crisis, and strengthening urban competitiveness, requires more than the existing functions of individual departments. The new task force teams are therefore being created to deliver tangible results.

The Commercial District Revitalization Task Force will implement policies to revitalize local and neighborhood commercial districts while strengthening cooperation between small business owners and the retail industry to deliver early results for the local economy.

As the central government's policies to revitalize local commercial districts have expanded significantly, and as collaboration with related organizations and on-site responses have increased due to rising commercial vacancies and management of coexistence agreements, the task force will take full responsibility for revitalizing local and neighborhood commercial districts and promoting cooperation within the retail sector.

The task force will establish comprehensive plans for commercial district revitalization and coexistence, designate commercial revitalization zones, autonomous commercial districts, and regional coexistence zones, support the creation of Busan-style long-term stable commercial spaces, formulate retail industry development plans, and oversee cooperation and business coordination between large and small retailers, thereby providing comprehensive support for local commercial districts.

The Tourism Economy Revitalization Task Force will link tourism policy with the City's 100-Day Emergency Measures for People's Livelihoods, including commercial district revitalization, the virtuous consumption cycle based on Dongbaekjeon, and sales recovery policies for small business owners. Rather than simply increasing visitor numbers, it will focus on generating tangible tourism-driven economic benefits through public-private cooperation by shifting toward a structure centered on overnight stays, consumption, and repeat visits.

The task force will develop strategies to convert rapidly growing tourism demand, particularly from international visitors, into increased sales for local commercial districts while promoting stay-oriented tourism by integrating cruise tourism, the MICE industry, nighttime tourism, gastronomy, and cultural content. It will also expand tourism strategies beyond eastern Busan into western Busan and improve accommodations and other reception systems for international visitors to meet global standards, addressing issues highlighted during recent BTS-related events.

With international visitor numbers continuing to rise, the task force will regularly convene joint advisory meetings with relevant organizations and external experts to ensure rapid execution. By combining consumer coupons, neighborhood commercial district recovery projects, and tourism content, it will serve as a frontline implementation hub for livelihood recovery policies by simultaneously attracting outside visitors and increasing local consumption.

The Livelihood Economy Investigation Task Force recognizes that livelihood-related financial crimes pose structural risks extending beyond individual victims to the broader local economy. It will establish a cooperative system with the Autonomous Police, the National Police Agency, the Prosecution Service, financial supervisory agencies, and legal support organizations to eliminate blind spots in enforcement and strengthen protection for citizens.

In response to increasing damages caused by illegal private lending, excessive illegal interest rates, unauthorized use of names resembling licensed lending businesses, unlawful debt collection, voice phishing, and other livelihood-related financial crimes, the City will immediately introduce the Special Judicial Police system for these offenses.

Rather than focusing solely on enforcement, the task force will prioritize establishing a preventive system that directly protects citizens in their daily lives. It will analyze industries with frequent incidents, vulnerable groups, and cases involving small business owners to establish proactive inspection systems while building a one-stop response framework encompassing counseling, legal assistance, administrative measures, and criminal investigations. Through these efforts, the City aims to establish a fair economic order in which citizens can feel secure and create an integrated financial protection model that simultaneously provides prevention, response, recovery, and support.

The North Port Redevelopment Innovation Task Force will comprehensively formulate development plans for the North Port area, including land use, functional planning, infrastructure, investment attraction, coordination with related organizations, and strategies linking redevelopment with the original downtown area.

The City regards the North Port redevelopment project as a long-term strategic initiative that will enhance Busan's urban competitiveness and improve citizens' quality of life. The task force will continuously manage key redevelopment issues, promptly resolve issues arising at each stage of the project, and strengthen cooperation with central government ministries and related organizations to enhance implementation. It will also examine citizen-centered public space creation, the integrated arrangement of maritime tourism, cultural, and business functions, and strategies for revitalizing the original downtown area, with the goal of fostering North Port as Busan's new growth hub.

In addition, the task force will gather public opinion, seek expert advice, actively consult with relevant organizations to identify private investment models, and conduct detailed reviews of project feasibility and reasonable financing methods.

Mayor Chun Jae-soo stated, "The change that citizens demanded through the election must be demonstrated not by words but through swift execution." He added, "From the very beginning of my term, we will move immediately, listen to voices from the field, and build an administration that is evaluated by its results."