Busan, Ulsan launch transition committees as 9th-term administrations take shape

With the 9th-term administrations of Busan and Ulsan set to take office, both cities have launched transition committees, offering the first glimpse of how their incoming mayors plan to govern. The committees' composition and the organizational overhauls they are expected to recommend have drawn close attention, as they represent the first concrete step toward turning campaign pledges into actual policy.

In Busan, Mayor-elect Jeon Jae-soo's transition body — the "Run Again Busan Committee" — held its inaugural ceremony Wednesday afternoon at the city's waterworks headquarters in Yangjeong-dong, Busanjin-gu. The committee was organized as a working-level body under the slogan "Livelihoods immediately, the future with certainty, Busan again."

In his opening remarks, Jeon said he had chosen the name by stripping away "flowery language," calling it "the reason Mayor Jeon Jae-soo exists and the direction I must never stray from." He said the committee had gathered "not to take stock of what we are inheriting, but to think hard about what we will change in Busan," and described its work as "completing a concrete timetable so we can get to work from the very first day in office."

He also urged committee members to "listen with an open mind to the civil servants and citizens we will work with," saying that "kindness comes from competence and humility." Transition committee chair Cha Jae-kwon responded by pledging to build "a humble committee that serves the mayor-elect's vision and delivers results."

Observers say the committee's membership clearly reflects Jeon's signature campaign pledge of establishing Busan as a "maritime capital." Appointing multiple professors from Korea Maritime and Ocean University and Pukyong National University as committee and advisory members signals his intention to concentrate policy capacity on maritime affairs, ports and logistics.

Kim Yul-seong, a professor of logistics systems engineering at Korea Maritime and Ocean University, was named head of the maritime capital vision subcommittee, with HMM maritime union chair Jeon Jeong-geun also joining as a member. Hwang Seon-ung, a professor of economics at Pukyong National University, will lead the jobs and economic innovation subcommittee, while Yang Jae-hyeok, a professor of architecture at Dong-eui University, heads the balanced urban development subcommittee. Son Ji-hyeon, a professor of counseling psychology and welfare at Silla University, chairs the citizen welfare subcommittee, and Lee Jae-won, a professor of public administration and welfare at Pukyong National University, leads the fiscal innovation subcommittee.

The 20 committee members include 11 men and 9 women. By age, one is in their 20s, three in their 30s, four in their 40s, seven in their 50s, and five are 60 or older. The sole member in their 20s is Park Se-bin, chair of the special committee on youth livability in Busan and a current student at Pusan National University.

The direction of the city's organizational restructuring is also drawing attention, as it will reflect the incoming mayor's governing priorities. The leading option under review is abolishing the future innovation vice mayor post created under Mayor Park Heong-joon and replacing it with a new maritime vice mayor, who would oversee the restructuring of key agencies such as the Arctic Route Promotion Headquarters and champion Jeon's maritime capital vision. However, creating the new post requires the city council to amend its ordinances — a prerequisite that looms large given that the People Power Party holds 37 of the council's 48 seats following the election.

Ulsan Mayor-elect Kim Sang-uk's camp held a meeting Wednesday afternoon with campaign staff and city hall officials from the policy planning office and the mayor's secretariat. The transition team plans to set up an office at the Ulsan Waterworks Headquarters and begin full operations Friday.

Kim intends to build a "small but strong, working-level" transition committee of 10 to 15 specialists, including professionals in their 20s to 40s. Members are expected to include figures from the Progressive Party and the Rebuilding Korea Party, which backed Kim's candidacy through a candidate alliance. Whether Kim Jong-hun, the former Progressive Party candidate for Ulsan mayor, will be named transition committee chair has emerged as a topic of keen interest in local political circles.

Kim Tae-seon, chair of the Democratic Party of Korea's Ulsan chapter, said in a media interview that "from the standpoint of realizing civic-sovereignty local government and a spirit of cooperation across the broader ruling camp, I think it is worth considering the former candidate Kim for the transition committee chair role."

A member of Kim Sang-uk's camp said the transition committee would be "composed of a small number of capable people — just as the campaign team was built around task-focused working staff — to ensure a smooth handover of duties."