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“Listen Fully, Decide Quickly!” Busan Metropolitan City Announces Public Communication Plan on Key Cultural Issues

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Busan Metropolitan City, led by Mayor Chun Jae-soo, announced that it will implement a deliberation and communication process involving citizens and members of the arts and culture community to reach prompt decisions on major local cultural issues, including the project to establish a branch of the Centre Pompidou and the planned La Scala opening performance at the Busan Opera House.

By pursuing deliberative procedures tailored to each issue alongside direct communication with citizens, the city expects to ensure both the procedural legitimacy of its policies and public acceptance, thereby enabling their swift implementation.

First, taking into account the different circumstances surrounding the two issues, the city will establish customized deliberative procedures to thoroughly gather opinions from citizens and members of the arts and culture community, while building policy consensus through communication with the Busan Metropolitan Council and civic organizations.

Regarding the project to establish a branch of the Centre Pompidou, the city will form a joint review panel composed primarily of experts in August to enhance the objectivity of the policy review. The panel will prepare a final opinion after thoroughly reviewing relevant materials and holding review meetings.

For the La Scala invitation, the city plans to conduct a range of deliberative processes involving diverse stakeholders, including meetings of the Busan Opera House Operations Advisory Group, forums involving local artists and citizens, and a public opinion survey. Through these processes, the city will gather views not only on the proposed La Scala performance but also on the Busan Opera House Opening Festival, the Busan Opera House operating plan, and measures to develop the local opera ecosystem.

Based on the conclusions reached through the deliberative process, the Busan Metropolitan City Cultural Cooperation Committee will convene in September to review the two priority issues in the local cultural sector. The city also plans to establish the direction and principles of its arts and culture policy through a “9th Popularly Elected Administration Arts and Culture Policy Town Hall Meeting,” at which the Mayor will directly gather opinions from citizens and arts and culture stakeholders, focusing on key issues in the administration’s major arts and culture policies.

Based on the deliberative processes for each issue and the Cultural Cooperation Committee’s review, the city plans to hold the “9th Popularly Elected Administration Arts and Culture Policy Town Hall Meeting” in late September. At the meeting, the Mayor will directly hear opinions from the Busan Metropolitan Council, local artists, civic organizations, and citizens, completing the final step toward a policy decision. In particular, the town hall meeting will be livestreamed so that the Mayor can directly share with citizens his views on current cultural issues and the arts and culture policies of the 9th popularly elected administration.

Following this process, in early October the city will present its cultural vision for the 9th popularly elected administration and announce to citizens its policy decisions on the establishment of a Centre Pompidou branch and the planned La Scala opening performance.

Mayor Chun Jae-soo said, “Along with presenting a cultural vision for the 9th popularly elected administration aimed at expanding citizens’ opportunities to enjoy culture and strengthening the competitiveness of the local arts and culture sector, we believe prompt policy decisions are needed on the two major issues currently facing the cultural sector, including the establishment of a Centre Pompidou branch. We have therefore concluded that it is necessary to ensure procedural legitimacy and public acceptance through a sufficiently thorough deliberative process, including gathering citizens’ opinions and holding a town hall meeting.”

He added, “In making these policy decisions, we will make every effort to reach a reasonable conclusion that all citizens can support, after carefully considering above all which course will best improve citizens’ lives and which decisions will best serve Busan’s future.”

“We ask for the continued interest and cooperation of all citizens,” he added.