Busan mayor, PPP city chapter vow bipartisan push for national budget

Busan city government and the People Power Party's Busan chapter held a budget policy consultation Wednesday to coordinate their push for national funding in 2027 and address key regional issues. The meeting, held at Kensington Hotel in Yeouido, Seoul, was attended by Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-soo, PPP Busan chapter chairman Lee Seong-kwon and local National Assembly members.

The city identified the second round of public-institution relocations to the regions as its top priority. Busan aims to attract financial institutions including Korea Development Bank and Industrial Bank of Korea, maritime bodies such as the Korea Institute of Marine Science and Technology Promotion and the Korea Marine Environment Management Corp., and national research institutes. The city plans to take a strategic approach to the intensifying competition among cities and provinces for major public institutions.

The meeting also addressed questions surrounding the timely opening of Gadeokdo New Airport. While the government's budget proposal includes 431.1 billion won ($315 million) for the airport next year, concerns have emerged over potential project disruptions — including the possible withdrawal of firms from the Daewoo Engineering & Construction consortium — as international oil prices and raw material costs have surged amid the war in the Middle East. The city said it would work with the government and the National Assembly to pursue regulatory reforms allowing construction cost increases to be reflected in contracts, given that current national contract law permits price adjustments only after a contract has been signed.

Mayor Jeon also presented a list of requests to Busan's Assembly members: support for passing a national health insurance policy review committee agenda item to convert Busan Baptist Hospital into a public hospital; installation of a Nakdong River subsurface water demonstration facility; inclusion of the Gupo-to-Gaya rolling stock depot section in the Gyeongbu Line underground rail plan; use of Korea National Railway and Korail-owned sites for the development of a Bujeon Station multimodal transit hub; establishment of an electricity rate system to address the disadvantages faced by power-generating regions; and construction of a K-content complex cultural space along with securing a national film archive.

Seventeen projects were put forward as priority national budget items for 2027, including a maritime and port AI transformation demonstration center (13.8 billion won), a next-generation power semiconductor production platform (9.9 billion won), a blockchain creative district (4 billion won), an AI transformation initiative for the Eco Delta City national pilot city (4 billion won), and a national quantum innovation center (500 million won). The city said it plans to push for new inclusions and budget increases during the National Assembly's review process, as a significant number of the projects were not reflected in the government's proposal.

"This is a golden time for Busan to take flight as a maritime capital on the world stage," Mayor Jeon said. "We must move swiftly to tackle the challenges of our time and resolve Busan's long-standing issues so the city can grow into an innovation hub leading the nation." Chairman Lee echoed the sentiment, saying the party would "persuade the government and the ruling party and cooperate across party lines to secure next year's national budget and resolve Busan's urgent issues," adding that "the ruling and opposition parties must join forces for the interests of Busan and its citizens and for the city's future."

Busan city government plans to keep a standing team in Yeouido through the end of the National Assembly's budget review at year's end, with the aim of defending projects already included in the government's proposal and securing additional funding for those that were not.