The Busan Port Authority (BPA) is recruiting members for the '2026 Busan Port Citizen Participation Innovation Group,' which evaluates major projects and innovation activities from the perspective of citizens.
Since the introduction of the program in 2024, instances of citizen feedback leading to actual projects have emerged, prompting an expansion of participation and feedback collection this year.
BPA announced that it will accept applications for the Citizen Participation Innovation Group from September 2 to September 23. Any South Korean citizen interested in Busan Port and BPA can apply, regardless of region or occupation, with the activity period running from the selection date until December 31 of this year.
The Citizen Participation Innovation Group allows citizens to directly assess and provide improvement suggestions for projects and innovation activities undertaken by BPA throughout the year. BPA selects the projects to be evaluated and presents them to the group, where participants score each project and submit open-ended feedback. Notably, some suggestions from last year's group were incorporated into this year's projects.
According to BPA, during the innovation group's activities, a proposal was made to increase opportunities for local university students to engage with Busan Port, leading to the expansion of programs linking university majors with port experience.
This year, the program has been extended to include university students from the metropolitan area, and additional feedback from participating students regarding Busan Port will also be collected.
A BPA official stated, "We collect and store the suggestions made by citizens each year. While not all suggestions can be immediately applied to projects, we review their feasibility for incorporation into next year's initiatives."
The size of the innovation group has also expanded since its inception. Based on initial operational experience, BPA increased the number of participants from approximately 80 to 100 last year. This year, the focus will be on selecting participants to ensure a diverse range of opinions.
In the selection process, groups will be divided based on region, occupation, and previous participation experience to avoid bias, with participants randomly selected from within each group.
For example, the distribution of residents from Busan and other regions, as well as those from the public and private sectors, will be considered, and random numbers will be assigned to select participants. Previous members of the innovation group can also reapply, with the selection process considering the ratio of returning participants to new applicants.
A BPA official emphasized, "This is not a method to favor specific groups but a procedure to ensure a balanced representation of opinions from citizens with diverse backgrounds."
However, citizens will not directly choose the projects to be evaluated by the innovation group. BPA departments internally determine the projects to be assessed from those pursued throughout the year, which the innovation group evaluates at the end of the year.
Evaluations will be conducted by scoring and collecting open-ended feedback. The overall evaluation results and comments submitted by citizens are not currently disclosed externally but are used internally to inform the design of next year's projects and innovation activities.
Participants will receive small mobile gift cards for each evaluation they participate in. BPA aims not only to increase participation but also to gather concrete suggestions that can lead to project improvements.
BPA's President Song Sang-geun stated, "Through the operation of the Citizen Participation Innovation Group, we will actively reflect the diverse opinions of the public in BPA's policies and innovation activities, and we hope for significant interest and participation to achieve results that meet the expectations of the citizens."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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