Busan's new mayor breaks with tradition, livestreams first senior staff meeting

Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-soo held the first expanded senior staff meeting of the ninth directly elected city administration Monday morning at Busan City Hall's main conference room. The entire session — attended by deputy mayors, heads of bureaus and divisions, chiefs of affiliated agencies and public enterprises, deputy heads of district offices, and heads of city-invested and city-funded institutions — was broadcast live on the city's YouTube channel, "Live Busan."

It was the second public meeting since Jeon took office, following his announcement of a 100-day livelihood emergency package on his first day. The decision to open the senior staff meeting to the public drew wide attention as something no previous Busan mayor, including his immediate predecessor Park Heong-joon, had attempted.

In his opening remarks, Jeon said the live broadcast was intended "to transparently open up key decision-making processes and thereby strengthen civil servants' sense of accountability and citizens' trust in city government." Addressing his staff directly, he said the city needed to be clear about its direction. "We must set our course firmly toward completing Busan's identity as a maritime capital, and we must select our priorities and concentrate our efforts," he said.

Jeon said the ninth directly elected Busan administration, launched amid the triple burden of high prices, high interest rates and a weak won, had to start by protecting people's livelihoods. Citing the "100-day livelihood emergency measures" he had championed as his top priority since taking office, he urged his staff to push ahead swiftly and in unison. "There is a golden window for restoring livelihoods — we must move with speed and with one mind," he said.

He also said the city had "set sail toward becoming a leading city in the great maritime future transformation," and outlined a strategy to secure an early foothold on Arctic shipping routes. He pledged to push through what he called a "four-piece maritime capital package" — relocating agencies under the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to Busan, establishing a specialized maritime court, clustering shipping companies including HMM, and setting up a Southeast Investment Corporation.

When Kim Gi-hwan, head of the Digital Economy Bureau, reported on the detailed progress of the 100-day livelihood measures, Jeon instructed his team to move quickly on items that could be executed immediately so that citizens would feel the impact. "For items requiring a supplementary budget, work closely with the city council from the moment it opens so the budget passes on time — stay on top of every detail," he said.

When Kim Yeong-jae, president of the Busan Research Institute, suggested linking the establishment of the Southeast Investment Corporation to the city's financial hub strategy, Jeon said he would personally ensure the relevant legislation passed the National Assembly.

Jeon doubled down on the importance of on-site administration and courteous conduct by civil servants. Referring to his visits on July 1 — his first day in office — to a rest shelter for mobile workers and the alley commercial district near the 40 Stairs in Jung-gu, he said, "Policy must be designed from what we hear on the ground, and results must follow — that is how citizens will feel that they can trust city government." He added that community consultations must not end with simply gathering opinions. "Administration must respond — make sure the feedback loop is real," he said.

Turning to his staff, Jeon said, "Kindness comes from competence and humility. You can only be kind without losing your temper when you have a precise grasp of the context behind each issue." He urged them to take special care "so that people will say Busan under Jeon Jae-soo is a kind city."

On the city's organizational restructuring, Jeon said work would begin with a focus on pressing issues but that he could not specify a timeline — whether it would be completed by September or by year's end. He said task forces would be set up around immediate priorities, including tourism infrastructure and the North Port redevelopment project, which encompasses the planned dome stadium.

On the unconventional decision to hold an open meeting, Jeon acknowledged there was room for improvement. "It is hard to do well from the outset, and there will be shortcomings, but we will gradually expand the practice," he said, adding that he intended to use similar expanded senior staff meetings to share and discuss the specifics of individual projects with the heads of city-invested and city-funded institutions.