Why Stopping the Busan Pompidou Center Project Could Signal Political Irresponsibility

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Park Hyung-jun, the People Power Party’s candidate for Busan mayor, criticized Democratic Party candidate Jeon Jae-su after Jeon said he would immediately suspend spending on a Pompidou Center branch in Busan and on the opening-performance budget for the Busan Opera House. Park’s camp asked bluntly: is opposing a project the same as offering a vision?

On May 4, Seo Ji-yeon, a spokesperson for Park’s campaign, issued a statement saying Jeon promised to halt the Pompidou Museum Busan branch project upon taking office. Seo warned that pledges to scrap budgets recur every election season, and this year is no exception.

Seo argued that Jeon’s platform reads like a summary of Busan’s supplementary budget report. Listing measures Jeon called \”emergency steps for livelihoods\”—fuel subsidies for truck drivers, energy vouchers for small businesses, increased Dongbaekjeon cashback, a freeze on public utility rates, and emergency aid for vulnerable groups—Seo asked, is there a single one of these items that Busan is not already implementing?

He noted that Busan has already enacted a supplementary budget of ₩550.8 billion (about $413.1 million) to fund those initiatives, and accused Jeon of presenting others’ work as his own while claiming to prioritize people’s livelihoods.

Seo then challenged Jeon directly: for someone intent on dismantling the Pompidou plan, what is his vision for Igidae? How would he integrate it with the tram system? Does he have a concrete plan to enhance the value of natural resources that have been neglected for more than a decade?

Seo continued: what is Jeon’s alternative vision for a Busan where residents don’t have to travel to Seoul or overseas to access world-class culture, and where young local artists can take pride in seeing their work on an international stage like the Pompidou? Saying \”we won’t damage it\” is a slogan, not a vision. If a mayor only knows how to oppose, Busan will neither build nor protect anything.

In closing, Seo said tearing things down is easy; building them is hard. The notion that \”if you build nothing, nothing will break\” is not governance but an expression of irresponsibility and incompetence. What Busan citizens want is not politics of anger that promise to overturn, but an administration with a constructive vision. As Busan advances toward status as a global city, our politics—and those who would lead the city—must mature.

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