Busan City Holds 3rd Meeting of the Public-Private-Government Cooperation Task Force for KDB Busan Relocation

October 3, 10:30 AM at the National Assembly Members' Office Building, Mayor Park Hyung-jun, ruling and opposition lawmakers, business community, and civic groups attend

Full-scale efforts to pass the amendment to the Korea Development Bank Act wit

Busan City will hold the 3rd meeting of the “Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) Busan Relocation Public-Private-Government Cooperation Task Force (TF)” at 10:30 a.m. on the 3rd in the 1st Conference Room of the National Assembly Members’ Office Building.

The “IBK Busan Relocation Public-Private-Government Cooperation Task Force (TF)” was launched on June 16 to resolve issues related to the relocation of IBK to Busan, including the revision of the “Industrial Bank of Korea Act.” Representatives from Busan City, local ruling and opposition party members of the National Assembly, business circles, and civic groups participate in the task force.

So far, two meetings have been held to discuss joint response measures, and the upcoming 3rd meeting is arranged to discuss plans for revising the “Industrial Bank of Korea Act” within the 21st National Assembly’s final regular session.

For the complete relocation of IBK to Busan, administrative procedures such as designation and announcement of the relocated public institution and approval of the local relocation plan are required, along with the amendment of Article 4, Paragraph 1 of the “Industrial Bank of Korea Act” concerning the head office location.

In May, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport officially announced IBK as a “public institution relocating to Busan” in the government gazette, marking the first step toward the actual relocation to Busan, and administrative procedures have been progressing sequentially. However, the revision of the “Industrial Bank of Korea Act” is currently pending in the Standing Committee on Political Affairs, despite four ruling and opposition party members having proposed amendment bills.

At the 2nd meeting of the Public-Private-Government Cooperation Task Force on September 15, specific implementation plans for revising the “Industrial Bank of Korea Act” within this regular session were intensively discussed. Participants agreed to divide roles among the city, National Assembly, business circles, and civic groups to promote activities.

Accordingly, on September 26, the “IBK Busan Relocation Promotion Council,” a private consultative body consisting of Busan business circles, academia, and civic groups, including Jang In-hwa, Chairman of the Busan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Heo Hyun-do, Chairman of the Busan-Ulsan Small and Medium Business Association, Park Jae-yul, Representative of the Busan Citizens’ Coalition for Decentralization and Balanced Development, and Cho Yong-eon, Co-representative of the Busan Federation of Economic Organizations, was launched at the Busan Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The Promotion Council has been actively engaged in activities to realize the revision of the IBK Act within the year, starting with a press conference and performance on the day of its launch, and pursuing meetings with Democratic Party members of the Political Affairs Committee.

Additionally, on October 13, small and medium-sized enterprises from Busan, Ulsan, Gyeongnam, Daegu, and Gyeongbuk jointly issued a statement urging the passage of the “Industrial Bank of Korea Act” amendment bill in the National Assembly, showing the business community in the Yeongnam region is also uniting to support the full relocation of IBK to Busan.

Busan City has been making every effort to persuade the National Assembly by explaining the necessity of IBK’s relocation to Busan and proposing the revision of the “Industrial Bank of Korea Act” through meetings between Mayor Park Hyung-jun and ruling and opposition floor leaders Yoon Jae-ok and Hong Ik-pyo, as well as Democratic Party Policy Committee Chairman Lee Gae-ho, from November 2 to 3.

Furthermore, Son Seong-eun, Busan City’s Financial Startup Policy Officer, visited the chairman of the National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee and 16 opposition party members’ offices on October 30 to deliver a proposal for the revision of the “Industrial Bank of Korea Act,” requesting the prompt processing of the amendment bill currently pending in the Political Affairs Committee.

At the 3rd meeting of the Public-Private-Government Cooperation Task Force on the 3rd, the main progress since the 2nd meeting will be shared, and focused discussions will be held on strategies to pass the “Industrial Bank of Korea Act” amendment bill within this year’s National Assembly session.

The task force plans to actively promote joint response measures prepared during the meeting to ensure the passage of the amendment bill within the remaining approximately one month of this regular session and will make every effort until the end.

Meanwhile, the private consultative body “IBK Busan Relocation Promotion Council” will hold a rally with about 100 participants in front of the National Assembly Main Building at noon on the 3rd to urge the passage of the “Industrial Bank of Korea Act.”

Mayor Park Hyung-jun stated, “The concentration of population, capital, and companies in the Seoul metropolitan area is widening the gap in production, employment, business, and population between the metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas.” He added, “For South Korea, which has entered a low-growth phase, to make a leap forward, two growth axes in Seoul and Busan must be realized, and the relocation of IBK to Busan will be the momentum for that.” He requested, “I ask the National Assembly to promptly pass the amendment bill to the ‘Industrial Bank of Korea Act’ through bipartisan agreement within this regular session for the complete relocation of IBK to Busan.”

Busan City Hall.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.