The city of Busan is halting the project to build a Busan branch of the world-renowned Pompidou Centre, which had been pursued under the previous administration of former Mayor Park Hyeong-jun.

Additionally, the city decided not to invite Italy's La Scala opera house for performances that were being pursued to commemorate the opening of the Busan Opera House.

During a press conference today (October 14), Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-soo explained that after conducting a three-month deliberation without preconceived conclusions regarding the Pompidou Centre Busan branch project and the La Scala opera invitation performances, the decisions were made by applying four core principles of municipal administration: "citizen-perceived impact," "publicity," "financial sustainability," and "administrative accountability."

Mayor Jeon cited four reasons for halting the Pompidou Centre Busan branch construction project.

First, building a permanent facility in Igidae, a national geopark that holds approximately 80 million years of geological history, entails a cost too heavy compared to the benefits, and it was judged difficult to sufficiently secure Busan's rights and public interest in the contract.

Second, while the project planning service estimated city funding of about 110 billion won for construction costs and about 12.5 billion won in annual operating expenses, there were numerous opinions that the reliability of the economic feasibility analysis was lacking.

Third, the project lacked consensus and co-growth plans with the local art community, and the division of roles with existing art museums remained unclear.

Instead, the city stated it plans to enhance the exhibition, research, and collection capabilities of the East Busan Art Museum and West Busan Museum of Contemporary Art, expand exchanges with leading overseas art museums to foster Busan's exhibition capabilities, and construct a complex cultural exhibition space in the North Port area—long requested by local artists—using entirely national funds.

Furthermore, Busan City presented three reasons—including financial resources and preparation status for opening—for deciding not to pursue the invitation performances of La Scala, despite a public opinion survey of 1,000 citizens showing 75% in favor.

First, although the original plan was to raise 40% to 50% of the 10.0 billion won project cost through corporate donations and sponsorships, funding procurement remained uncertain, falling short of targets by the time budget allocations and other preparations needed to begin in earnest.

Second, the city explained that existing plans failed to sufficiently confirm cooperative measures that would lead to local artists' participation, education, and talent development, and that the overall completeness of the performance hall and operational system needed to be secured first.

At the same time, the city announced that the Opera House will be completed by the end of this year, undergo facility safety and performance inspections in the first half of 2027, carry out pilot performances in the second half, and officially open in 2028.

The city stated that once the operation of the Opera House stabilizes and gets on track, it plans to re-examine the invitation of world-class opera performances, including La Scala, by preparing necessary financial resources and specific cooperation plans.

As cultural sector projects that were actively pursued during the tenure of former Mayor Park Hyeong-jun of the People Power Party are being scrapped following the inauguration of Mayor Jeon Jae-soo of the Democratic Party of Korea, significant conflicts are expected with the Busan City Council, where the People Power Party holds an overwhelming majority.
 
(Photo provided by Busan City, Yonhap News)