The plenary session of the 2026 Busan Labor-Management-Civic-Government Council is held Tuesday afternoon at a meeting room in Busan City Hall. The photo shows Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-soo (left) meeting with Lee Hae-soo, chairman of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions' Busan regional headquarters, on Aug. 11. [Busan City]
The plenary session of the 2026 Busan Labor-Management-Civic-Government Council is held Tuesday afternoon at a meeting room in Busan City Hall. The photo shows Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-soo (left) meeting with Lee Hae-soo, chairman of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions' Busan regional headquarters, on Aug. 11. [Busan City]

Busan City held the plenary session of the 2026 Busan Labor-Management-Civic-Government Council on Tuesday afternoon at City Hall. The council is a social dialogue body composed of representatives from labor and management, labor relations experts, civic groups and civil servants, tasked with deliberating on labor and employment issues in the Busan region. It has 25 members — five ex officio and 20 appointed — and is chaired by the sitting mayor.

Twenty members attended the session, including Mayor Jeon Jae-soo; labor and management representatives Lee Hae-soo, chairman of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions' Busan regional headquarters, and Kim Gwang-su, chairman of the Busan Employers' Federation; Kim Jun-hwi, director of the Busan Regional Employment and Labor Office; and experts from various fields including Kwak Seon-hwa, a professor at Pusan National University, and representatives of civic organizations.

The session proceeded through four agenda items: a report on the outcomes of the 2025 regional labor-management-civic-government mutual cooperation support project and the key contents of this year's project; a research report on analyzing the impact of retirement age extension on youth employment expansion and developing a mutual employment plan for the Busan region; a research report on a survey of industrial safety conditions across Busan's metropolitan and district levels and measures to close the gaps; and deliberation on a draft joint declaration to realize Busan as a maritime capital at the center of a future transformation built on safe workplaces and quality jobs.

The council first shared the outcomes of 15 tasks across six areas carried out under the 2025 regional mutual cooperation support project, and reported on the progress and key contents of 22 tasks across six areas currently under way this year. Notably, a promotional video planned and produced by public relations students at Dongseo University from a youth perspective was shared with those in attendance.

The council then shared the progress of two research projects being conducted with specialized research institutions to develop effective responses to current labor and employment issues, and gathered input from members.

The first study — on analyzing the impact of retirement age extension on youth employment expansion and developing a mutual employment plan for the Busan region — aims to assess how future increases in the retirement age, driven by rapid aging and a shrinking working-age population, will affect local employment, and to devise a mutual employment strategy that addresses both job security for older workers and expanded opportunities for young people.

The second study — a survey of industrial safety conditions across Busan's metropolitan and district levels and measures to close the gaps — compares and analyzes the state of industrial accidents and safety management conditions across individual districts and counties, and examines safety vulnerabilities by area to promote safer workplaces. The city explained the background, research content and progress of both studies at the session, and plans to incorporate members' feedback and complete the research by November.

The council concluded with a joint review of the "Busan Labor-Management-Civic-Government Joint Declaration" to realize Busan as a maritime capital at the center of a future transformation built on safe workplaces and quality jobs, followed by representatives from all sectors signing the declaration. The document contains specific pledges from each of the four parties — labor, management, civic groups and government — to build a culture of mutual growth in which all citizens have their labor valued in safe workplaces and businesses and workers advance together.

"For a company to run well over the long term, the people working inside it must first be safe and properly respected — and to achieve that, all four parties must work together, each from their own position," Mayor Jeon said. "I will take responsibility and provide support so that safe workplaces and quality jobs can serve as a solid foundation for the sustainable growth and development of Busan as a maritime capital."


kaf2002@heraldcorp.com