Busan Ranks Second Nationwide and First Among Metropolitan Cities in Ministry of Employment and Labor's 'Work-Life Balance Index'

Jeonnam 75.6, Busan 73, Seoul 72.8 in 2024
Dramatic Rise in "Work" Category: From 15th to 1st Nationwide

Busan has once again been recognized as a city with an excellent work-life balance.

On January 5, the Busan Metropolitan Government (Mayor Park Hyungjoon) announced that it ranked second nationwide, including additional points, and first among special and metropolitan cities in the "2024 Work-Life Balance Index" released by the Ministry of Employment and Labor.

The Work-Life Balance Index is published annually by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, which commissions the Korean Women's Development Institute to analyze 25 indicators across five areas-"work," "life," "system," "local government interest," and "extra points"-for all 17 metropolitan and provincial governments nationwide. Since the index was first introduced in 2018, Busan has consistently ranked among the top cities, briefly dropping to the middle tier before returning to the top ranks in this latest evaluation.

In 2024, Busan's overall score was 73 points, the second highest after Jeonnam (75.6 points), followed by Seoul with 72.8 points. Busan's score has steadily increased from 39.5 points in 2017, and this year saw the largest year-on-year increase, rising by 7.7 points compared to the previous year.

This rise in ranking was largely driven by improvements in the "work" category. Busan climbed from 15th nationwide in 2023 to 1st in 2024 in this area, thanks to reductions in overtime hours, the introduction and increased utilization of flexible work arrangements, and a rise in vacation days taken. Specifically, the score for overtime hours improved from 1.7 to 2.3 points, the introduction of flexible work arrangements rose from 1.2 to 2.5 points, the utilization rate increased from 3.1 to 4.8 points, and the number of vacation days taken went up from 1.1 to 2.3 points.

Additionally, Busan achieved above-average results in the "life," "system," and "local government interest" categories, and received a perfect score in the extra points category for its evaluation on promoting government-certified household services.

To promote a culture of work-life balance, the city has enacted relevant ordinances, established dedicated organizations, and implemented a range of policies. Last year, Busan focused on small businesses, promoting the system, offering tailored consultations, providing work-life balance training, supporting the creation of family-friendly workplace cultures, selecting outstanding companies, and conducting campaigns to support companies and workers. Since 2018, the city has also held an annual "Work-Life Balance Week," which has become a citizen-oriented event.

This year, the city plans to further expand "on-site briefings" in areas densely populated with small and medium-sized enterprises, and will focus on spreading a culture of work-life balance by providing company-specific information and linking with government support programs.

Mayor Park Hyungjoon emphasized, "This result reflects the ongoing efforts we have made to improve work-life balance," adding, "We will continue to build 'Busan, the happy city of work-life balance' through policies that companies and citizens can truly feel."