Second regional town hall follows Oct. 6 session in old city center; residents of Nam-gu, Suyeong-gu, Haeundae-gu and Gijang-gun raise local concerns

The town hall meeting for the old city center held at the Busan Fashion Biz Center on Oct. 6 [Busan city government]
The town hall meeting for the old city center held at the Busan Fashion Biz Center on Oct. 6 [Busan city government]

Busan city held the "Eastern Busan Town Hall Meeting" on Tuesday afternoon at the convention hall on the third floor of the UN Peace Memorial Hall in Nam-gu, drawing about 200 residents from Nam-gu, Haeundae-gu, Suyeong-gu and Gijang-gun.

The event was the second regional town hall meeting, following the Oct. 6 session in the old city center. It was organized to discuss key issues and future development directions for the eastern Busan area with residents and to incorporate their voices into city administration. It also marked an extension of the follow-up outreach from the ninth-term administration's "206-dong field communication and cooperation project" to the eastern Busan region.

Mayor Jeon Jae-soo outlined the future vision and key policy directions of the ninth-term city administration under the theme "Busan, maritime capital," while the heads of the four district and county governments presented their areas' major concerns. Of the event's 120 minutes, 80 were devoted to open dialogue with residents, giving citizens a free forum to raise proposals and receive direct responses from the mayor. "I will bring together all our capabilities so that the issues identified in the field and the valuable opinions shared today can translate into real change for the region," Jeon said.

Ahead of the town hall meeting, city officials spent two days — Oct. 12 and Oct. 15 — examining local issues closely affecting residents' daily lives across the four districts and counties.

In Nam-gu, officials reviewed the need to underground power lines along Yongso-ro and to improve pedestrian conditions and the urban streetscape at an aging drainage channel in Munhyeon-dong. Suyeong-gu highlighted cultural and leisure concerns, including landscape improvements at Suyeong Historic Park and facility upgrades at a youth culture center. Haeundae-gu focused on traffic safety and living environment improvements — specifically facility upgrades at an intercity bus stop and the installation of pedestrian paths near the Wondong interchange. Gijang-gun reviewed progress on pedestrian safety and convenience projects, including sidewalk repairs around Gijang Market and the creation of a walking trail along Manhwa Stream.

The city plans to review the proposals raised during the field visits and town hall meeting together with the district and county governments and incorporate feasible items into city administration. In addition, the city intends to extend the town hall meeting series to other regions beyond the old city center and eastern Busan, continuing its field outreach efforts.


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