As of September 19, over 500,000 signatures collected both online and offline
Signature certification challenge by key figures helps spread enthusiasm
The city of Busan (Mayor Park Hyungjoon) and the Busan Global Hub City Pan-Citizen Promotion Council (Executive Co-Representative Yang Jaesaeng and four others) announced that the campaign to collect one million signatures urging the enactment of the Busan Global Hub City Special Act has surpassed 500,000 participants.
The campaign, which began on August 27 alongside the launch ceremony of the Pan-Citizen Promotion Council, reached over 500,000 signatures as of September 19, the 24th day of the campaign, with 266,000 collected online and 234,000 offline.
In the first 10 days, by September 5, the campaign had just exceeded 20,000 participants. However, from September 10, more than 30,000 people joined daily, and on September 12, just before the Chuseok holiday, 82,000 people signed, showing a rapidly growing momentum.
This surge in participation is largely attributed to the active involvement and promotional efforts of members from national civic organizations such as the Busan Saemaeul Association (Chairperson Baek Okja), the Busan branch of the Korea Freedom Federation (Chairperson Shin Hanchun), and the Busan Council for the Movement for a Right Living (Chairperson Kim Giyong). In addition, signature certification challenges by local lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties, district mayors, business leaders, heads of civic groups, and other prominent local figures have further fueled this enthusiasm.
The city and the Pan-Citizen Promotion Council plan to intensify their promotional efforts so that Busan citizens can fully recognize the necessity of the special act and unite their support.
The Busan Global Hub City Special Act, a bipartisan bill jointly proposed by all 18 local lawmakers, is scheduled to be submitted to the first subcommittee of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee for legislative review.
The results of the signature campaign will be delivered to the National Assembly in October, in line with the legislative schedule, to expedite the passage of the bill.
Kim Bongcheol, Director of the Busan City Administration and Autonomy Bureau, stated, "This signature campaign was launched with the goal of reaching one million signatures by the end of September. With just over ten days remaining, it is more important than ever to maintain this momentum until the end." He added, "We ask for the continued interest and participation of citizens so that the Busan Global Hub City Special Act, the goal of this campaign, can be swiftly passed in the National Assembly."
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