Jeon Jae-soo moves to revisit Sajik ballpark, Pompidou projects, drawing council pushback

The Busan city government under Mayor Jeon Jae-soo has begun reviewing two major projects championed by his predecessor, Park Heong-joon — the reconstruction of Sajik Baseball Stadium and the construction of a Busan branch of the Centre Pompidou.

Jeon had called for both reviews during his election campaign, but his administration's path forward draws close scrutiny given that the People Power Party holds 37 of the 48 seats on the Busan City Council.

The city included in a business report submitted Tuesday to the council's administrative and culture committee a plan to review adjustments to the Sajik Baseball Stadium reconstruction project. The intent is to align the pace of the Sajik reconstruction with progress on Mayor Jeon's campaign pledge to build a retractable-roof domed stadium at North Port.

Song Woo-hyeon, the PPP chair of the administrative and culture committee, pushed back sharply. "The 29.9 billion won ($20.2 million) in national funds secured for the Sajik reconstruction has not been canceled, and the project budget has not increased — yet the plan to reopen Sajik in March 2031 has been changed to a 'review of project adjustment' for no reason other than a change of mayor," Song said. "Was there a directive from above?"

Nam Jeong-eun, the city's sports bureau director, said the review was prompted by overlap with the North Port multipurpose arena project. "We are taking a little time, forming a task force and looking at this carefully," Nam said. "This is not an administrative halt." She added that the design competition for Sajik Stadium was still proceeding.

Song replied that the city could not afford to be so relaxed, warning that the national funds might have to be returned. Nam said the city intended to proceed in a way that preserved the project budget to the greatest extent possible.

Song Sang-jo, a PPP lawmaker and deputy speaker of the Busan City Council, said the review appeared to reflect Mayor Jeon's intention to buy time by aligning the Sajik project with the North Port domed stadium schedule while maintaining and repairing the existing stadium, which carries a safety rating of C.

When Song asked whether Lotte had consented to the review before it was announced — given that national funds had been secured for the reconstruction and Lotte had agreed to invest in the project — Nam said the city planned to seek agreement from Lotte and baseball fans after the review had progressed to a certain point.

In a report submitted ahead of the administrative and culture committee briefing scheduled for Wednesday, the city said it would pursue the procedures needed to review the plan to build a Busan branch of the Centre Pompidou. The project would require 110 billion won in city funds and has reached a concrete stage — this year's budget already allocates 4.03 billion won for a design competition and operating costs.

Council officials expected PPP lawmakers to continue their opposition when the administrative and culture committee briefing proceeds Wednesday.