▲ Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-soo receiving a work report
Critics argue that Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-soo's initiative to live-stream major city meetings, introduced to enhance administrative transparency, is causing confusion and sparking backlash by exposing unrefined policy ideas to the public without proper vetting.
During a live-streamed work report session on July 8, Mayor Jeon remarked, "Whenever I go to Seoul, I envy the Han River. It is a space for citizens to enjoy various festivals, events, sports, and leisure, and I have been wondering why the Nakdong River is so different."
He then instructed the Nakdong River Management Headquarters and the Busan Development Institute to review a plan, stating, "The Nakdong River floods when it rains heavily. Regardless of the budget required, we should build embankments like in the Netherlands to secure national river land for public use."
In response, the Busan Federation for Environmental Movement issued a statement, arguing, "The floodplains, which are submerged during floods, function to reduce flood risks by temporarily storing river water. The idea of building embankments to secure land goes against the laws of nature and would weaken flood response capabilities."
Some experts also expressed critical views regarding the construction of embankments on the Nakdong River.
Lee Joon-kyung, co-representative of the Nakdong Estuary Restoration Council, stated, "The desire of Busan citizens, who have access to the sea, to use the Nakdong River is significantly different from the attitude of Seoul citizens toward the Han River. The utility is not high compared to the massive budget required to build embankments."
Kim Jwa-kwan, a distinguished professor at the Catholic University of Pusan (and civilian chair of the National Water Management Committee), also noted, "In the era of the climate crisis, building embankments and dredging have many limitations. The global trend is 'Room for the River' policies, which create more space for rivers, such as through retention basins. Building embankments on the Nakdong River could lead to side effects where water levels rise during heavy rain, causing water to back up and overflow into tributaries."
Even within the Busan Development Institute, which received the review order, there are reactions that building embankments on the Nakdong River is realistically difficult.
Critics also point out that the Mayor overlooked the fact that the Han River floodplains, which he expressed envy for, are also submerged when it rains heavily.
The biggest issue is that the Mayor's personal ideas are exposed to the public without prior review or coordination by policy aides.
This is why there is criticism that the live-streaming policy of the 9th popularly elected Busan administration, which began with the goal of breaking the administrative monopoly on information and ensuring transparent governance, is instead undermining administrative credibility by showcasing unpolished policy concepts.
Consequently, voices are being raised inside and outside City Hall suggesting that the live-streaming of major meetings by Mayor Jeon, who is a three-term former lawmaker but a first-time regional administrator, may have been premature.
In fact, when Mayor Jeon previously stated in a media and YouTube live broadcast that the Korea Housing & Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG) would participate in the North Port Dome Stadium project, the corporation issued an explanatory statement denying this, saying, "Participation in a specific project requires sufficient review and a cautious approach."
In response, a Busan city official explained, "The purpose of the live broadcast is to transparently disclose administration to citizens, and we will fully review the criticism or differing opinions that arise in the process. As it is still in the early stages of introduction, there will be positive effects once the system settles over time."
(Photo: Captured from Busan City YouTube, Yonhap News)
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