A citizen group in Busan has called for the legislative approval of the Busan Global Hub City Special Act by the National Assembly, urging an end to political strife between parties. The Local Autonomy and Balanced Development Busan Citizens’ Alliance held a press conference on the 6th at the Busan City Council briefing room, emphasizing that the special act, co-sponsored by Democratic Party’s Jeon Jae-soo and People Power Party’s Lee Heon-seung, is not solely under any specific party’s jurisdiction.
The group stated that the special act is not just for a specific region, highlighting Busan’s significance as a global port city with the world’s 7th largest container cargo volume and the 2nd largest transshipment hub. It also plays a strategic role for the Arctic route era, combining finance, logistics, and marine industries.
The alliance claimed that the act is linked with the development strategies of the entire Southeast region, including Ulsan and Gyeongnam, and is a key institutional foundation to alleviate the capital region’s over-concentration and enhance national competitiveness.
Busan City’s opposition pointed out that President Jae-myung Lee expressed concerns about burdening the government, yet the act does not contain any burdensome terms for the government. Although the special act passed the National Assembly’s Public Administration and Security Committee last month with bipartisan agreement, it was not presented at the entire meeting of the House Judiciary Committee due to not meeting the deliberation period required by the National Assembly Act.
As the local elections approach, candidates for Busan mayor have also raised their voices. People Power Party’s Park Hyung-jun criticized the delay as a detrimental act to the hopes of Busan citizens. Fellow party member Joo Jin-woo argued that while special privileges are granted to Jeonnam-Jeonju Integration Special Act, Busan is being neglected. Meanwhile, Democratic Party’s Jeon Jae-soo assured commitment, with plans to handle the act’s passage, citing precedents of reform bills processed without the deliberation period due to lack of opposing agreements.