Jeon Jae-soo taps Hanwha Aerospace adviser Oh Seok-geun as Busan's future innovation vice mayor

Busan Mayor-elect Jeon Jae-soo has named Oh Seok-geun, an adviser at Hanwha Aerospace, as future innovation vice mayor for the city's ninth directly elected administration. Transition committee spokesperson Ban Seon-ho said Tuesday that Jeong Gyeong-won, secretary-general of the Democratic Party of Korea's Busan chapter, has been designated senior political affairs adviser at the first-grade equivalent level, while Hong Sun-heon, former chief of Haeundae-gu, will serve as policy cooperation adviser.

Oh, the vice mayor-designate, previously served as secretary to the minister of construction, an administrative official in the presidential secretariat, executive vice president of Posco, and vice president for external affairs at Pusan National University. He will support the city's economic agenda and connect the public sector with businesses, universities and external institutions.

Jeong will coordinate key city administration issues with the National Assembly and central political circles, while Hong will oversee policy affairs, communication with the city council, public-private cooperation, coordination of local issues and the development of a Busan-style collaborative governance model.

Chung Ju-yung, a senior aide who has worked alongside Jeon on legislative activities and policy planning since Jeon's first term in the National Assembly, has been named policy chief of staff at the second-grade equivalent level. Having also served as a policy adviser to the minister of oceans and fisheries, Chung will handle policy coordination and implementation management, translating campaign pledges into administrative budgets and projects.

Park Seok-ho, a former reporter at the Busan Ilbo, has been named political affairs chief of staff at the third-grade equivalent level. Park will monitor public opinion on key issues and handle political planning, including messaging to communicate policy achievements to citizens. Ban Seon-ho, a Busan city council member who served as the transition committee's spokesperson, has been designated external affairs chief of staff, also at the third-grade equivalent level. Ban, who has served on both basic and metropolitan councils and gained experience at the Office of the Prime Minister, will coordinate external affairs needed to advance city administration priorities.

"The selection criteria were practical competence — the ability to work alongside the public sector and deliver results that citizens can feel," Jeon said. "This will be a collaborative staff that supports the execution capacity of the public sector through a capable, humble and citizen-friendly Busan city administration."