BUSAN — The Busan metropolitan government has formally declared plans to build an "international marine business hub," aiming to break the country's concentration of economic power in the Seoul metropolitan area and open a multipolar structure for the South Korean economy. The strategy is to remake Busan as a global marine base drawing policy, companies, capital and talent, in step with the central government's plan to develop a "Southern Marine Capital Region."
Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-soo attended the 10th Central-Local Cooperation Meeting held at Cheong Wa Dae on the 26th and presented the city's strategy for locally driven growth, centered on the creation of an international marine business hub.
The meeting drew 29 members, including the president, the prime minister, the governors and mayors of 16 metropolitan cities and provinces, and the heads of the four major local government associations, along with ministers of relevant government agencies. The government reported on central-local cooperation measures for the ninth popularly elected local government term, plans to promote locally driven growth, measures to foster regional growth engines linked to three mega-projects, and directions for fiscal investment aimed at balanced growth.
In its plan to promote locally driven growth, the government put forward the "Southern Marine Capital Region" concept, which ties Busan, Ulsan and Gyeongsangnam Province into a single growth axis. Under the strategy, Busan would specialize as an international marine and financial business hub, Ulsan as an eco-friendly energy hub for East Asia, and Gyeongsangnam Province as an industrial ecosystem for port logistics, manufacturing and artificial intelligence, with the three regions linking their industries and infrastructure.
In line with the government plan, Jeon presented three core strategies to develop Busan into an international marine business hub. The first combines incentives for corporate relocation and investment with settlement support to create an environment where companies and talent take root in the city.
The city also plans to expand its industrial ecosystem by attracting marine-related companies together, and to develop Bukhang, the city's North Port, into a mixed-use base combining marine administration and industry with culture and tourism. The plan calls for adding large-scale venues such as a domed arena at Bukhang to create a new urban base where industry and tourism grow together.
Four foundations were presented to support the plan: a global marine network, a tri-port system, a finance and talent ecosystem, and the fostering of strategic technologies. The city plans to build an industrial ecosystem that draws companies, capital and technology by combining its port, airport and rail logistics networks with its financial and talent base.
Through these strategies, the city aims to create a virtuous growth cycle in which policy, companies, capital and talent converge and new investment and industries follow. The goal is to spread the growth momentum generated in Busan to Ulsan, Gyeongsangnam Province and the rest of the southern region, building a new growth axis on par with the Seoul metropolitan area and leading balanced national development and a shift to a multipolar structure.
"Busan as a marine capital is a national strategy for South Korea to overcome the concentration of power in the Seoul metropolitan area and move toward a multipolar structure," Jeon said. "Based on the sea, which is our future growth territory, we will create a virtuous growth cycle in which companies and talent gather in Busan, spread those results across the entire southern region, and establish a new growth axis on par with the Seoul metropolitan area."
The Central-Local Cooperation Meeting is the top decision-making body created to strengthen cooperation between the central and local governments, treating localities as partners in running the country. The president serves as chair, with the prime minister and the head of the Governors Association of Korea as co-vice chairs. Ministers of major central government agencies, mayors and governors, and the heads of the four major local government associations take part in deliberating and coordinating major national policies on local autonomy and balanced development.
