(From left) Shim Jae-min, head of the city's environment and water policy office; Park Chung-hee, co-chair of the Busan Women's Solidarity Council; Choi Mi-kyung, chair of the Busan Women's Organizations Council; Choi So-nam, standing co-chair of the Busan Clean Water Citizens Committee; Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-soo; Kim Jwa-gwan, chair of the National Water Management Committee; Lee Jun-kyung, head of Saengmyeong Geulmul; and Hong Soon-heon, special adviser on policy cooperation [Busan city government]
(From left) Shim Jae-min, head of the city's environment and water policy office; Park Chung-hee, co-chair of the Busan Women's Solidarity Council; Choi Mi-kyung, chair of the Busan Women's Organizations Council; Choi So-nam, standing co-chair of the Busan Clean Water Citizens Committee; Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-soo; Kim Jwa-gwan, chair of the National Water Management Committee; Lee Jun-kyung, head of Saengmyeong Geulmul; and Hong Soon-heon, special adviser on policy cooperation [Busan city government]

The city of Busan held a meeting Tuesday morning at City Hall to discuss ways to diversify its water intake sources and secure safe drinking water, with officials from the presidential National Water Management Committee and local civic groups in attendance.

Mayor Jeon Jae-soo joined National Water Management Committee Chair Kim Jwa-gwan, Lee Jun-kyung of civic group Saengmyeong Geulmul, Choi So-nam of the Busan Clean Water Citizens Committee, Choi Mi-kyung of the Busan Women's Organizations Council and Park Chung-hee of the Busan Women's Solidarity Council at the session.

Participants exchanged views on the worsening algal bloom problem in the Nakdong River and the project to diversify Busan's water intake sources to ensure safe drinking water.

Kim raised the need to install a pilot facility at the lower Nakdong River — the planned intake site — to verify water quality and confirm the safety of subsurface water, in connection with the Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy's plan to pursue intake source diversification centered on subsurface water extraction.

"We will work with relevant ministries to secure additional budget for a subsurface water pilot facility on the lower Nakdong River near Busan, alongside the related study the Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy plans to conduct next year," Kim said. He added that eco-filtering — a natural filtration method using artificial wetlands — should also be included in the ministry's study, rather than relying on a single approach.

Civic groups stressed that access to clean water is a fundamental right of citizens and urged the government to take a more active role, including significantly tightening wastewater discharge standards for national industrial complexes along the Nakdong River basin. They also proposed that any move by the Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy to pursue subsurface water-centered diversification should be accompanied by rigorous water quality verification and carried out in parallel with existing riverbank filtration plans, given the urgency of the drinking water issue.

Mayor Jeon pledged to do everything possible to secure a clean water source that residents can drink with confidence. "Diversifying the Nakdong River intake source is not just Busan's project — it is a national policy task and a critical undertaking for the country's water security," he said. "We will work with the central government, the National Assembly, South Gyeongsang Province and other relevant agencies to find the best solution."


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