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Busan Metropolitan City Unveils Proposed Organizational Restructuring to Advance the Policy Vision of the Ninth Elected City Administration

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Busan Metropolitan City, led by Mayor Chun Jae-soo, announced that it has prepared an organizational restructuring plan reflecting the policy vision of the ninth elected city administration. The City will reorganize its administration into an action-oriented system capable of simultaneously restoring people’s livelihoods and securing future growth engines.

To this end, from today, July 22, through August 11, the City will issue a public legislative notice on the proposed amendment to the Ordinance on the Establishment and Staffing of Administrative Organizations of Busan Metropolitan City, which incorporates the organizational restructuring plan for the ninth elected city administration. Following consultations with the Busan Metropolitan Council and other relevant parties, the City plans to submit the proposed amendment to the Council on August 14. The restructuring is expected to take effect in September after deliberation and approval at the Council’s 339th session.

The plan reflects the policy vision of the ninth elected city administration in its organizational design: completing Busan’s transformation into a maritime capital, making Busan a city where young people choose to stay, strengthening collaborative governance and communication with citizens, and delivering immediate relief for people’s livelihoods while securing the future. It focuses on producing early results that citizens can directly experience in their daily lives.

The City will establish four new organizations by concentrating its institutional capabilities on the maritime capital, youth, people’s livelihoods, and the economy.

The Maritime Capital Strategy Office will be established and its organizational rank elevated to realize Busan’s vision as a maritime capital. Within the office, the newly created Arctic Shipping Route Promotion Division will develop a comprehensive plan for pioneering the Arctic shipping route, collaborate with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, and support pilot voyages to position Busan at the forefront of the Arctic shipping era. The newly created Maritime Capital Promotion Division will develop strategies for one-on-one diplomatic outreach to international maritime cities, establish investment attraction networks, and host international maritime events.

The Population and Youth Policy Bureau will be established as a dedicated organization to efficiently coordinate youth and population policies. It will consist of the Youth Policy Division, Population Policy Division, and newly created Youth Initiatives Division, establishing a virtuous cycle that strengthens the foundations for young people to settle in Busan. Youth and population functions previously dispersed across the Youth and University-Academia Cooperation Bureau and several other departments will be consolidated to ensure consistent implementation of policies covering housing, employment, and long-term settlement. In particular, the Youth Initiatives Division will create practical conditions for young people to remain in Busan by expanding high-quality employment opportunities through cooperation between local universities and relocated companies.

The Citizen Life Bureau will be established to advance collaborative governance, communication with citizens, conflict coordination, investigations into economic crimes affecting people’s livelihoods, and universal animal welfare policies. It will comprise the newly created Citizen Sovereignty and Collaborative Governance Division, the Integrated Civil Services Division, the Special Judicial Police Division, and the Animal Welfare Policy Division, enabling the integrated delivery of administrative services that citizens encounter in their daily lives. The Citizen Sovereignty and Collaborative Governance Division will serve as a central coordinating body for collaborative governance by proactively managing public conflicts and gathering citizens’ opinions through two-way communication. Investigative authority over private moneylending will also be added to the Special Judicial Police Division, broadening its scope to include economic crimes affecting people’s livelihoods, such as illegal private lending and fraudulent real estate schemes. This will provide the foundation for the effective implementation of the 100-Day Emergency Measures for People’s Livelihoods.

The Citizen Economy Bureau will be established to create a support system for livelihood stability by revitalizing the social and solidarity economy and commercial districts and enhancing the professionalism of labor policy. It will comprise the Small Business Support Division, the newly created Social and Solidarity Economy Division, and the newly created Labor Policy Division. The bureau will oversee the recovery of the livelihood economy and establish a comprehensive safety net covering everyone from small business owners to workers.

The organizational restructuring for the ninth elected city administration is based on five principal directions.

First, functions that directly address everyday livelihood issues and protect citizens’ lives today will be consolidated under the Vice Mayor for Administrative Affairs. Strategic functions related to future industries and preparations for Busan’s tomorrow will be placed under the Vice Mayor for Economic Affairs, clearly defining their respective roles. At the same time, mayor-led coordination will be strengthened to enhance consistency across the entire city administration.

The organizations under the Vice Mayor for Administrative Affairs will include the Planning and Coordination Office, Planning Officer, Finance Officer, Citizen Safety Office, Population and Youth Policy Bureau, Social Welfare Bureau, Citizen Health Bureau, Women and Family Bureau, Culture Bureau, Sports Bureau, Administration and Autonomy Bureau, Citizen Life Bureau, Urban Spatial Planning Office, Urban Infrastructure Bureau, Housing and Architecture Bureau, Transportation Bureau, and Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam Super-Regional Economic Alliance Promotion Headquarters.

The organizations under the Vice Mayor for Economic Affairs will include the Economic Policy Office, AI Industry Innovation Bureau, Citizen Economy Bureau, Tourism and Content Industry Bureau, Maritime Capital Strategy Office, New Airport Bureau, Climate, Environment and Energy Bureau, Water Policy Bureau, Green City Bureau, and Financial and Startup Policy Officer.

Second, similar and overlapping functions will be integrated under unified chains of command to eliminate administrative silos and accelerate the process from policymaking to implementation.

The Future Spatial Strategy Bureau and urban planning functions will be integrated and reorganized as the Urban Spatial Planning Office. To establish a consistent approach to designing the city’s future vision and planning spatial policy, district-unit planning and urban management planning functions previously handled by the Urban Planning Bureau needed to be consolidated. The office will therefore be reorganized as a dedicated body responsible for planning and coordination in the formulation of urban spatial and development policies.

The Advanced Industries Bureau and the Future Technology Strategy Bureau will be reorganized as the AI Industry Innovation Bureau. By integrating advanced industries with research and development, the bureau will drive industrial growth through technological innovation. A new AI Emerging Industries Division will be established to create an AI transformation platform in western Busan, a region with a strong manufacturing base. The bureau will also incorporate the Design Industry Innovation Division and develop the region into a hub for transforming key manufacturing sectors, including footwear, fashion, and textiles, into high-value-added industries by integrating them with artificial intelligence.

Third, functions will be realigned so that citizens, as the ultimate beneficiaries of public policy, can experience tangible results in their daily lives, thereby embedding the principle of immediate action for people’s livelihoods throughout the organization.

The new Citizen Economy Bureau will bring together support for small businesses and commercial districts, the social and solidarity economy, and labor policy. It will provide immediate on-site support for the recovery of small businesses and neighborhood commercial districts facing hardship. It will also strengthen the City’s dedicated capacity to respond to livelihood-related economic issues in preparation for the implementation of the Framework Act on the Social and Solidarity Economy in April 2026 and the transfer of labor inspection authority.

The Tourism and MICE Bureau will be reorganized as the Tourism and Content Industry Bureau, and a Global Content and Tourism Division will be established. By shifting from short-visit tourism to a high-value, extended-stay tourism economy, the City will generate benefits that flow into local commercial districts and citizens’ incomes. It will also expand experiential tourism programs linked to locally specialized content and strengthen the competitiveness of the tourism industry through cooperation with private-sector and global companies.

The Rescue and Emergency Services Division within the Fire and Disaster Headquarters will be reorganized to address refusals to accept patients and delays in patient transfers, including the practice of patients being repeatedly redirected from one emergency room to another. The City will enhance education and training systems to improve the expertise and proficiency of disaster response personnel whose work is directly connected to public safety, while strengthening field-oriented command and collaboration systems. As growing safety demands diversify both staffing needs and recruitment fields, a Human Resources Officer position will also be created to ensure greater professionalism and fairness in personnel management.

Fourth, to maintain continuity in city administration, policies that citizens need will not be overturned unnecessarily. Instead, they will be continued flexibly based on their tangible benefits to citizens and their impact on fiscal soundness.

A Balanced Growth Policy Officer position will be established under the Planning Officer to ensure the consistent advancement of long-term initiatives, including the second relocation of public institutions, decentralization, administrative integration between Busan and Gyeongsangnam-do, and the establishment of a special regional union.

The Sports Bureau, the first of its kind established by a metropolitan government in Korea, will be retained to ensure continuity in community and elite sports policies. It will continue to provide stable support for citizens’ health and regional vitality.

The 15-Minute City policy will be carried forward and expanded through the Neighborhood Spatial Planning Division within the Urban Spatial Planning Office, developing it into a spatial policy that delivers tangible benefits to citizens.

Fifth, collaborative governance functions will be strengthened to continuously gather citizens’ opinions and provide organizational support for the ninth elected city administration’s commitment to communication and cooperation.

The Citizen Sovereignty and Collaborative Governance Division will be established within the Citizen Life Bureau to proactively manage public conflicts and serve as a central coordinating body for collaborative governance through two-way engagement with citizens. By placing the Integrated Civil Services Division within the same bureau, the City will establish a unified communication channel through which citizens’ voices can be reflected in policy in real time.

Mayor Chun Jae-soo said, “We will build an organization that reshapes Busan as a maritime capital, takes full responsibility for the 100-Day Emergency Measures for People’s Livelihoods, and transforms Busan through AI. We will demonstrate this change through results that citizens can directly experience.”

He added, “The direction of the organizational restructuring will be determined through communication and collaborative governance with the Busan Metropolitan Council. Beginning in Busan, we will establish an exemplary model of collaborative governance by working closely with the Council and continue to broaden a culture of cooperation.”