Busan City Council marks 100 days with pledge to 'protect today, prepare tomorrow'

The Busan City Council held a press conference Thursday morning at the council briefing room to mark the 100th day since the launch of the 10th council, announcing key achievements and its direction for future legislative operations.

Council Speaker Kang Mu-gil pledged to build on the first 100 days. "Thanks to the warm support of citizens over the past 100 days, we were able to give our best to our duties," he said. "On the foundation of these 100 days, we will be a council that protects citizens' today and prepares Busan's tomorrow."

Council members cited five main achievements from the past 100 days: reaching agreement on the city's organizational restructuring plan and the first supplementary budget of the ninth elected-term administration, and establishing regular ruling and opposition party cooperation meetings to build a foundation for communication and collaboration; overhauling the personnel vetting system for heads of public institutions to strengthen oversight; swiftly activating three special committees to address pending issues; pursuing legislation to ease the burden on citizens amid high prices and high interest rates; and forming a record 16 research groups while returning overseas business-trip budgets.

Building on those achievements, council members outlined three directions for future legislative activity — a council that protects citizens' today, a council that prepares Busan's tomorrow, and a council that delivers results — and announced specific action plans for each.

The council said it would launch livelihood field meetings and establish a policy consultation channel with the Busan Chamber of Commerce and Industry to bring the voices of businesses, traditional markets and neighborhood commercial districts into policy. To address water supply issues, it plans to hold regular joint sessions with the South Gyeongsang Provincial Assembly. On the problem of vacant buildings that threaten public safety, the council will work with architectural professional groups to assess the deterioration and reuse potential of such properties, with an eye toward both safety and urban regeneration.

The Busan City Council also plans to deepen its super-regional cooperation with the Ulsan City Council and the South Gyeongsang Provincial Assembly, pursuing joint action across nine areas including securing national funding, relocating public institutions, developing wide-area transport networks, and building a nuclear power, energy and electricity ecosystem. Speaker Kang met with Ulsan City Council Speaker Lee Young-hae and South Gyeongsang Provincial Assembly Speaker Park Jun on Sept. 29 and agreed to form the "Busan-Ulsan-South Gyeongsang Council Regional Development Council" in October and issue a joint cooperation declaration.

To support the second round of public institution relocations, the council plans to form a pan-civic recruitment body bringing together political, business and civil society groups. It will also focus its legislative efforts on accelerating the opening of Gadeokdo New Airport and attracting the headquarters of the integrated low-cost carrier.

The council intends to expand its legislative advisory committee to serve as a think tank, while a speaker-level advisory body of experts will identify a range of policy tasks. A tentatively named "Busan Metropolitan City Council Policy Forum" will gather broad input from citizens and specialists.

The inaugural policy forum is scheduled for Oct. 26 and will discuss plans to develop campus towns as a response to high vacancy rates near university districts. Subsequent forums will focus on long-unresolved local issues such as the relocation of Busan Detention Center and the use of seawater desalination facilities.

Meanwhile, the Busan City Council plans to hold a charity briquette-sharing event in Maechukji Village in Dong-gu on Oct. 15, continuing its outreach to socially vulnerable residents.