Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-soo chairs a meeting of the city's task force on the second round of public institution relocations on Monday. [Busan City]
Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-soo chairs a meeting of the city's task force on the second round of public institution relocations on Monday. [Busan City]

Busan is stepping up efforts to attract Korea Development Bank and other public institutions slated for the government's second round of relocation. The city held a task force meeting Monday morning at City Hall, chaired by Mayor Jeon Jae-soo, with participation from senior city officials, Busan City Council members, the Busan Research Institute, the Busan Economic Justice Movement and other civic and expert groups.

Convened to get ahead of the government's forthcoming second public institution relocation plan, the meeting focused on detailed strategies for drawing key policy finance institutions and state-funded research bodies to the city. The review centered on Busan's four specialized clusters: finance, maritime, advanced industry and research and development, and film and video.

Notably, Korea Development Bank is among the institutions Busan is targeting. During the June 3 local elections, Mayor Jeon had publicly championed the establishment of a Southeast Investment Corporation over relocating the bank.

Beyond Korea Development Bank, the city is pursuing Industrial Bank of Korea, the Export-Import Bank of Korea and Korea Trade Insurance Corporation in the finance sector, and the Korea Institute of Marine Science and Technology Promotion, the Korea Maritime Transportation Safety Authority, the Korea Fisheries Infrastructure Public Agency and the Korea Marine Environment Management Corporation in the maritime sector.

Also on the target list are the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology, the Korea Environmental Industry and Technology Institute, the Korea Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning Institute and the Korea Data Agency in the advanced industry and R&D sector, along with the Korean Film Archive and the Viewer Media Foundation in the film and video sector.

The city submitted a request to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in February for the relocation of 40 institutions, including its priority targets, and has since been conducting preliminary checks on vacancy rates and residential conditions while making direct appeals to the central government.

"Attracting public institutions is a core task for Busan's leap toward becoming the maritime capital of Korea," Mayor Jeon said. "We will rally every capacity this community has and ensure we are ready to receive them."


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