Jun Jae-soo, the Democratic Party of Korea's candidate for Busan mayor, has sharply shifted his election frame from "large-scale development" to "living stability" by pledging a "100-Day Emergency Livelihood Measure." Amid prolonged shocks from high prices and interest rates, he plans to launch a large-scale budget restructuring immediately upon taking office to secure funding for support of ordinary citizens. By directly targeting the core cultural and infrastructure projects of the current administration, the Busan election is being reshaped into a "livelihood versus development" contest.
Jun held a press conference at the Busan Metropolitan Council on the 4th, officially announcing the establishment of a mayor-led "Livelihood Security Task Force." "I will activate the 'Busan 100-Day Emergency Livelihood Measure' immediately upon taking office to stabilize citizens' lives," he said. "The top priority of the mayor right now is to defend citizens' daily lives. We will concentrate emergency support on vulnerable groups in crisis."
The key lies in how the funding will be secured. Jun designated the large-scale project budgets pursued by the Park Heong-jun administration as subjects of "zero-base review" and signaled a halt to their execution. The construction of a Busan branch of the Pompidou Center and invited overseas opera performances to mark the opening of the Busan Opera House are taking direct hits. "I will boldly halt nonessential and nonurgent budgets and redirect them to livelihoods," he explained.
The restructured budget will flow directly into immediate living support. Key measures include temporary fuel subsidies for small-scale truck drivers and delivery workers, and energy vouchers for traditional market merchants and small business owners. The package also bundles easing the burden of public utility charges such as water, sewage, and city gas along with local taxes, an expansion of cashback on the local currency "Dongbaekjeon," operation of public "Livelihood Guardian" jobs, and reductions in card and delivery fees. A plan linking the introduction of special judicial police to combat illegal private lending and voice phishing is also included.
This vision is not limited to short-term remedies but is intertwined with a strategy to restructure Busan's industrial base. At a Democratic Party on-site Supreme Council meeting and a Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam candidate convention held earlier the same day, Jun said, "The agreement to relocate the headquarters of HMM, Korea's largest national shipping company, to Busan will be a turning point that changes the city's economic landscape," emphasizing the clustering effects in shipping, ports, finance, and legal services. His argument is that if HMM joins SK Shipping and H-Line Shipping, the combined revenue of the three major shipping firms will reach approximately 14 trillion won ($10 billion), forming a substantive foundation for "Busan as a maritime capital."
For the medium to long term, he presented a blueprint to build multipolar growth axes in Busan that would shake the "single-pole Seoul metropolitan system" through the relocation of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and its affiliated public institutions, the establishment of a Busan Maritime Court, and the creation of a 50 trillion won ($36.9 billion) Southeast Investment Corporation. "I will expand Busan's vision into the vision of the Republic of Korea," he said. "This election is a turning point that goes beyond the region to change the nation's structure."
Ultimately, the core of Jun's strategy is a dual track combining "short-term livelihood stabilization" with "long-term industrial restructuring." "I will create Korea's future in Busan," Jun said. "I will make the dream of Busan as a maritime capital a reality."
