From AI Crowd Management and Global Payment Solutions
to Underground Shopping Center Revitalization...
Management Innovation Achievements Encompassing
Public Welfare and Growth
Busan Transportation Corporation has solidified its status as a leading public innovation institution by consecutively receiving awards from the government and Busan City, based on the management innovation achievements promoted throughout 2025.
The corporation’s organization-wide innovation, which encompassed not only improvements in citizen safety and transportation convenience but also the revitalization of the local economy, received high praise.
Busan Transportation Corporation (President Lee Byungjin) received the following honors: the Minister of the Interior and Safety Award at the Government Innovation Grand Championship, the Excellence Award in the Local Public Institution Local Economy Revitalization Best Practices Contest, the Encouragement Award at the Busan City Municipal Innovation Competition, the Prime Minister’s Commendation for Government Innovation, and the Busan Mayor’s Commendation for Outstanding Active Administration.
Busan Transportation Corporation is taking commemorative photos after consecutively receiving awards from the government and Busan City based on the management innovation achievements promoted throughout the year 2025.
The corporation was recognized for effectively implementing “people-centered, growth-driven innovation” in the public sector, in line with the new government’s policy direction.
This year, the corporation successfully established and deployed an “AI-based real-time congestion analysis and automatic alert system.” By applying this system around Gwang-an Station during the Busan Fireworks Festival and linking the control center with the field in real time, not a single safety incident occurred among the approximately one million attendees.
The corporation’s shift from relying on employees’ visual observation and experience to a data-driven scientific approach for crowd management was recognized as a significant innovation. As a result, the corporation became the only local public institution to receive the Minister of the Interior and Safety Award at the “2025 Government Innovation Grand Championship” for two consecutive years.
The corporation’s achievements in simultaneously improving transportation convenience and revitalizing the local economy also drew attention. For the first time among domestic urban railway operators, the corporation introduced a “WeChat Pay-linked QR ticket payment service,” allowing foreign tourists to use the subway without currency exchange.
Following the introduction of this service, related sales increased by approximately 61% compared to before, and there was also an expansion in consumption within commercial districts near stations. For this achievement, the corporation received the Excellence Award in the Local Public Institution Local Economy Revitalization Best Practices Contest and the Prime Minister’s Commendation for Government Innovation.
Another notable example of proactive administration was the transformation of the Suyeong-Gwang-an Underground Shopping Center, which had been closed for seven years, into “Pet Station,” the nation’s first shopping center specializing in companion animals.
The corporation resumed the project by resolving legal disputes and coordinating stakeholders, creating a complex space equipped with pet-friendly cafes, kindergartens, grooming facilities, and indoor walking trails. This exemplary case of repurposing idle public assets to meet social demand earned the corporation the Busan Mayor’s Commendation for Outstanding Active Administration for five consecutive years.
Lee Byungjin, President of Busan Transportation Corporation, stated, “This recognition is the result of our proactive response to the public institution’s responsibilities of ensuring citizen safety, providing user convenience, and revitalizing the local economy. We will continue to deliver public services that citizens can truly experience through innovation that finds solutions on the ground.”
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