Jeon Jae-soo vows to make North Port the 'heart' of Busan's maritime capital vision

Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-soo spent Thursday — the 100th day of the ninth directly elected municipal administration — not at a commemorative ceremony but listening to residents, small-business owners and entrepreneurs. Just as he skipped an inauguration ceremony on his first day in office and instead convened an emergency livelihood task-force meeting, Jeon again chose direct engagement with the public to mark the milestone.

In the morning, Jeon held an open weekly policy meeting at City Hall's video conference room, attended by two citizen representatives, to review the achievements of the past 100 days and share the administration's policy direction. At a press conference at 11 a.m., he framed his agenda as "100 days of recovery, 1,360 days of growth," saying he would "lead Busan's growth as a maritime capital on the foundation of livelihood recovery."

"One hour of the mayor's time touches the lives of all 3.3 million citizens," Jeon said, "because we must look after citizens' lives today while preparing for Busan 10 and 20 years from now." Reflecting on the emergency livelihood measures, supplementary budget, and a series of roundtable meetings with small-business owners, workers, youth and companies over the past 100 days, he said he had "carried out, one by one, the work of protecting the lives of citizens facing hardship."

Jeon singled out the Arctic shipping route as one of the most important shifts of the past 100 days, saying its possibilities "are beginning to become reality." A trial-run vessel departing from Busan has been sailing through the Arctic Ocean to Europe and back; North Port has been confirmed as the site for the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries' new headquarters; and the relocation of HMM and Heung-a Shipping's head offices to Busan is accelerating the clustering of shipping companies in the city. "What we are building as a maritime capital is a place where change that begins at sea draws new industries and investment, which in turn creates jobs and income for citizens," he said.

Jeon also laid out his vision to develop North Port into the "heart" of the maritime capital. "Many citizens came to North Port to see a single shark, 'Bukang-i,'" he said. "We will build it into a new center of Busan — a maritime capital where K-pop performances, sports events and international gatherings revolve around a multipurpose dome arena, and where people come and stay 365 days a year." He added that the administration would work closely with the central government on the timely ground-breaking of Gadeokdo New Airport and would develop gateway infrastructure, including a hub port suited to the Arctic route era and a metropolitan rail network.

Jeon also pledged to transform Busan's industrial makeup. The city plans to pursue what he called a "Busan AX great transformation" — combining the city's strengths in shipbuilding, maritime industries, ports and manufacturing with AI — and to cultivate new maritime industries as a fresh growth engine. On tourism, the administration intends to shift its focus beyond visitor numbers toward length of stay and contribution to the local economy, while expanding growth into the original city center and western Busan.

Busan City also finalized and began implementing its campaign pledge action plan Thursday, aimed at realizing the ninth administration's governing vision of "Busan, maritime capital at the center of a great future transformation." Tasks proposed by the "Busan Committee for a Fresh Start" in June were reviewed by an advisory and evaluation panel and organized into four urban goals — a maritime capital connecting the world, an innovation economy city opening the future, a balanced growth city where anywhere is a good place to live, and a citizen happiness city where everyone is healthy — along with 122 detailed projects.

Key projects include the relocation of maritime public institutions, construction of a maritime AI data center, creation of a physical AI and power semiconductor cluster, a Busan-style youth new deal, functional reorganization of North Port, underground routing of the Gyeongbu Line, a Busan-style integrated care system, and completion of a public healthcare belt. The city plans to complete 95 of the 122 projects (77.9%) or achieve their major targets within Jeon's term. The total project cost is 35.52 trillion won ($26.5 billion), of which 18 trillion won will be invested within the term. Funding sources include 18.81 trillion won from the national government and 3.21 trillion won from the city.

"The past 100 days were not a time when much was completed, but a time when possibilities were confirmed and the first steps were taken," Jeon said. "From here, I will turn those possibilities into reality, one by one." He added that he would "ensure that people feel the change not in the numbers of a report, but in citizens' jobs and incomes, in opportunities for youth, and in a healthy and safe daily life."

After the press conference, Jeon visited a restaurant near City Hall to meet small-business owners and hear how much they had felt the impact of the 100-day emergency livelihood measures. In the afternoon, he called on the Busan Chamber of Commerce and Industry to discuss the direction of business and economic policy.