Busan City, City Council, and National Integration Committee Sign Agreement to Promote National Integration

Inauguration Ceremony of the Busan Regional Council of the National Integration Committee

Support for Regional Balanced Development and the 2030 World Expo Bid

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongguk Lee] Busan City will launch the ‘National Integration Committee Busan Regional Council’ at 11 a.m. on February 1st in the main conference room of Busan City Hall.

The ‘National Integration Committee Regional Council’ is a regional consultative body aimed at promoting national integration by serving as a bridge between the National Integration Committee and local regions, discovering agendas for regional integration and conflict resolution.

Busan City Hall.

The launch of the regional council is the fourth following Gyeongbuk Province, Chungbuk Province, and Jeonnam Province, and the first regional council launch ceremony of 2023 will be held today in Busan.

About 40 people, including Kim Han-gil, Chairman of the National Integration Committee, Park Hyung-joon, Mayor of Busan, Ahn Seong-min, Chairperson of the Busan City Council, as well as committee members of the Integration Committee and the Busan Regional Council, are expected to attend the launch ceremony.

At the launch ceremony, Chairman Kim Han-gil will present appointment letters to the Busan Regional Council members. The appointed members will serve a one-year term during which they will develop agendas for resolving major conflict issues in the Busan region and act as a bridge to publicize these issues through the National Integration Committee.

In particular, at today’s event, a business agreement will be signed among Busan City, the Busan City Council, and the National Integration Committee to promote social conflict healing and national integration.

According to the agreement, the three institutions plan to mutually cooperate on ▲enactment of ordinances and regulations to promote national integration ▲formation of consensus on national integration, cultural diffusion, education, investigation, and research ▲activation of communication between central and local governments, regional civil society, and the public sector.

Following the business agreement ceremony, the first meeting of the Busan Regional Council will address as its first agenda the discussion on national integration through regional balanced development, a key issue for Busan City, and the attraction of the 2030 World Expo to Busan.

Presenter Shim Jae-min, Planning Officer of Busan City, will explain the necessity of regional balanced development and attracting the 2030 World Expo for national integration and will request active interest and support from the National Integration Committee.

Mayor Park Hyung-joon said, “Solving the problem of concentration in the metropolitan area is a task that South Korea must solve to move forward, and if the 2030 World Expo is held in Busan, it will become a cornerstone for uniting South Korea as one.” He added, “I ask the National Integration Committee Busan Regional Council to serve as a bridge to realize the aspirations of Busan citizens regarding solving the metropolitan concentration issue and attracting the 2030 World Expo.”

Ahn Seong-min, Chairperson of the Busan City Council, said, “Among the various conflicts in our society, the conflict arising from the gap between the metropolitan area and local regions is the most urgent to resolve. I hope that with the launch of the Busan Regional Council, national integration centered on local regions will be achieved.”

Chairman Kim Han-gil said, “The successful attraction of the Busan Expo will be a path to national integration that unites all our people, and I ask for the active interest and support of the public to attract the Expo.”