Restructuring centers on citizen sovereignty, stronger accountability; legislative notice filed Tuesday, implementation set for late July

The transition committee for Ulsan Metropolitan City mayor-elect has drawn up an organizational restructuring plan to embed the 9th elected-term governing philosophy of "citizen sovereignty" across the city administration. [Provided by Ulsan Metropolitan City]
The transition committee for Ulsan Metropolitan City mayor-elect has drawn up an organizational restructuring plan to embed the 9th elected-term governing philosophy of "citizen sovereignty" across the city administration. [Provided by Ulsan Metropolitan City]

The transition committee for Ulsan Metropolitan City Mayor-elect Kim Sang-uk filed a legislative notice Tuesday for an organizational restructuring plan designed to embed the 9th elected-term governing philosophy of "citizen sovereignty" across the city administration.

The restructuring follows Monday's announcement of two new deliberative bodies — a labor commission and an audit and integrity commission — and focuses on broadening citizen participation and oversight throughout the administration while raising public awareness of policy at every stage, from design to implementation.

The plan maintains the principle of deploying personnel where they are most needed while reorganizing functions around services that directly affect residents' daily lives. Ulsan's total headcount will grow from 3,478 to 3,519, with 11 general-service positions and 30 firefighting positions added.

On the economic and industrial side, previously overlapping functions will be separated into two dedicated bureau-level units — one for industry and one for the local economy.

The existing Industry and Economy Office will be reorganized into an AI Innovation Industry Office to strengthen the link between AI transformation and the city's core industries. The Economy Bureau will focus exclusively on stabilizing the local economy and building a startup and employment ecosystem. Related units and personnel will be reinforced to accelerate the development of metropolitan-level startup infrastructure, including centers in Seoul and Ulsan.

In transportation and safety, the Bus and Taxi Division within the Transportation Bureau will be renamed the Public Transportation Division, with enhanced functions for reviewing bus route systems to better guarantee residents' freedom of movement.

In the fire service, a four-shift rotation system will be introduced at the 119 Integrated Situation Room to strengthen on-scene response capacity, and new field response units will be established at the Jungbu Fire Station and the Nam-Ulju Fire Station.

New units will also be created to address decentralization and population decline. A Decentralization and Population Policy Bureau will be established to oversee policies on local autonomy and the low birth rate, and the city plans to expand support for universities and youth centered on the Regional Innovation-led University Support System, known as RISE.

In the welfare sector, the Welfare, Veterans Affairs and Women's Bureau and the Citizen Health Bureau will be merged into a single Welfare and Health Bureau. The consolidation aims to deliver integrated welfare and health services spanning the full life cycle while improving policy coordination and execution.

The restructuring plan is scheduled to be submitted to the Ulsan City Council at a special session next month and will take effect in late July following council deliberation and approval.

"We plan to build a citizen-centered framework for civic participation in city governance and establish an administrative system that prioritizes the interests of all residents, grounded in checks and balances within the administration," a transition committee official said.


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