Busan Mayor Park Hyung-jun Tightens Shoelaces... Steps Up as a 'Problem Solver' for Corporate Obstacles

Prompt Resolution of LS Electric Buffer Green Space Occupancy Issue and Construction
One-Stop Corporate Support Group Established Last Year, Dedicated Officials Deployed

To ease corporate regulations, Park Hyung-jun, the mayor of Busan, personally tightened his shoelaces.

On the morning of the 23rd at 9 a.m., Mayor Park visited the expansion construction site of LS Electric Co., Ltd.'s Busan factory to inspect regulatory obstacles. Yang Jae-saeng, chairman of the Busan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Kangseo-gu district deputy mayor, and other officials also rushed to the site.

The visit was made by Mayor Park and others to resolve the corporate difficulties regarding the use of part of the buffer green space on the west side of the site for the expansion of the LS Electric Busan factory.

On that day, Mayor Park directly listened to the on-site difficulties and discussed effective support measures.

The site requires securing a temporary construction passage due to safety concerns caused by the passage of construction vehicles, operation of large vehicles transporting factory products, and pedestrian obstruction. Although permission to use the green space was urgently needed, conservative legal interpretations by related departments threatened to delay the construction period by about two months if the green space use permit was not granted. The resulting economic loss was expected to reach 29.1 billion KRW.

During the site visit, Mayor Park accurately grasped the seriousness of the problem and plans to focus on resolving corporate difficulties and removing administrative barriers.

Busan City, Kangseo-gu, and the Busan Chamber of Commerce and Industry agreed to promptly resolve the buffer green space use issue through close cooperation and support the smooth progress of the construction.

In July last year, Busan City established a One-Stop Corporate Support Group with the goal of achieving innovative regional economic growth by creating a business-friendly environment.

They have been promoting four major strategies and 15 tasks: ▲establishing a one-stop corporate support system ▲removing obstacles at investment sites ▲strengthening field-oriented regulatory innovation ▲enhancing administrative capabilities to support corporate investment.

Dedicated public officials (PMs) have been assigned to four large-scale investment sites, yielding results such as ▲granting honorary road names to enhance Renault Korea's image ▲conducting studies to secure industrial water supply for Kumyang Co., Ltd. in East Busan and preparing water fee support plans ▲minimizing administrative procedure durations by adjusting the schedule for IQ Lab Co., Ltd.'s landscape review ▲supporting the prompt promotion of a private contract for the site of Oriental Precision Co., Ltd.'s R&D campus construction.

Busan City plans to continue expanding the dedicated public official system for large-scale investment sites and strengthening corporate regulatory innovation to increase corporate vitality and the perception of regulatory relief. Additionally, to strengthen communication with companies, the city will continuously visit sites and hold regular meetings to proactively resolve corporate difficulties.

Mayor Park Hyung-jun said, “We will immediately resolve the difficulties of LS Electric's Busan factory to ensure the expansion construction proceeds smoothly, actively supporting this together with the Busan Chamber of Commerce and Industry,” adding, “We will create a business-friendly city of Busan by easing and improving various regulations that hinder corporate management.”

Through this site visit, Mayor Park sent a message encouraging companies facing difficulties to always reach out to the One-Stop Corporate Support Group.