‘A Yeosu that engages with its citizens, reaches out to the world and moves forward again’—Yeosu City pursues organizational overhaul

【Financial News, Yeosu—Reporter Hwang Tae-jong】Yeosu City is pursuing an organizational overhaul to realize the vision for its ninth popularly elected administration: ‘A Yeosu that engages with its citizens, reaches out to the world and moves forward again.’
 The key measures are to place Offices of Citizens’ Sovereignty and Future Strategy directly under the mayor and establish three new bureaus: Industry and Economy, Population, Youth and Education, and Agriculture, Forestry and Livestock. The aim is to channel citizens’ voices into policy, respond to industrial crises and secure future growth engines.
 Seo Yeong-hak, mayor of Yeosu, stressed, "We will adjust the organization to 15 bureau-, office- and division-level units, 93 division-level organizations and 395 teams—two more bureau-, office- and division-level units, five more division-level organizations and 12 more teams than at present—and realize 'A Yeosu that engages with its citizens, reaches out to the world and moves forward again.'"
 According to Yeosu City on the 27th, the city will first put citizens’ sovereignty at the center of city administration by reorganizing the mayor’s Office of Citizen Communication as the Office of Citizens’ Sovereignty and establishing a Citizens’ Sovereignty Team. It will also establish a Citizen Autonomy Division to support residents’ direct participation in resolving local problems. The Direct Civil Complaints Team will be renamed the Rapid Civil Complaints Team and respond on site within 48 hours.
 The city will also establish an Office of Future Strategy directly under the mayor, a dedicated organization to lead future strategy and the transition to artificial intelligence (AI). It will plan and coordinate major policies and key projects and identify new growth engines for Yeosu. An AI Innovation Division will also be established to integrate AI into public administration and local industries and turn future strategies into concrete projects.
 The city will also establish an Industry and Economy Bureau and assign it the functions needed to respond to industrial crises and revive the local economy. The plan is to bring industry, economy, energy, labor and distribution under one bureau, linking industrial transition with support for businesses and workers. 
 It will also establish a Population, Youth and Education Bureau to pursue policies on population, youth, education and libraries in an integrated manner, and a new Agriculture, Forestry and Livestock Bureau to link policies on agriculture, forests, parks and livestock.
 In addition, teams such as the National Heritage Utilization Team, Marine Ecology Team and Island Expo Utilization Team will help increase the value of local resources and build on achievements related to the Island Expo.
 Seo Yeong-hak, mayor of Yeosu, stressed, "We will reorganize the Transportation and Roads Bureau as the Safety, Transportation and Roads Bureau, linking work on safety, transportation and roads to support citizens’ daily lives," and added, "We will strengthen implementation so this organizational overhaul leads to changes in citizens’ daily lives and the local economy."
 Yeosu City plans to implement the organizational overhaul in January 2027, after completing the necessary procedures, including revising relevant ordinances and rules and obtaining deliberation by the city council.

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