Greetings, everyone, and thank you for joining us for this week’s edition of GTV. I’m Don Valiant and this is the news from Gyeonggi Province this week. 1. Gyeonggi Pursues Public Transportation Improvements (0608-2) ► Gyeonggi’s New Public Transportation Policies Gyeonggi Province has been pursuing public transportation improvements. Among these efforts is the planned establishment of the Gyeonggi Transportation Corporation, which will undertake the integrated management of transportation systems for the province’s 31 cities and counties. This past March, the province also introduced Gyeonggi public buses that are operated under a route bid-based, semi-public bus management system. ► Park Tae-hwan, Director General, Gyeonggi Province Transportation Bureau “Gyeonggi Province has set “Realization of Resident-oriented Fair Transportation Welfare” as the vision for its transportation administration. This vision steers our transportation administration in line with the province’s core administrative values of “Fairness, Peace and Welfare.” 2. Gyeonggi Supports Psychological Testing for Youths Affected by COVID-19 (0609-3) ► Gyeonggi Provides Youths with Online Psychological Test Support During COVID-19 Pandemic Gyeonggi Province is providing youths who have been psychologically affected by the COVID-19 pandemic with online psychological testing support. Applicants for this support are referred to one of 15 local youth consultation and welfare centers for online psychological testing and consultation services. Applications can be made by the youths themselves or by their guardians via the 1388 Youth Hotline. 3. Hydrothermal Energy Systems to Be Developed in Gwangmyeong and Siheung (0608-1) Gyeonggi Province recently announced plans to develop Korea’s largest eco-friendly hydrothermal energy systems in industrial complexes in the cities of Gwangmyeong (광명) and Siheung (시흥). Part of the province’s new and renewable energy development efforts, the hydrothermal heating and cooling systems utilize water temperatures that are lower than ambient temperatures in summer and higher in winter. According to K-Water, use of hydrothermal systems will have the effect of reducing energy consumption by approximately 89,000 megawatt-hours, while also decreasing microdust by 48 tons and greenhouse gasses by 22,000 tons. ► Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung “We must end our dependence on fossil fuels and move towards new and renewable energy sources. These hydrothermal systems are the first that we are going to develop. A new road is always rough, but I ask you to blaze this trail so that others can easily follow.” 4. Gyeonggi Launches Natural Water Quality Information System (0609-1) Gyeonggi Province recently launched a system that provides information about natural water quality. This system delivers water quality test results including the potability of springs and water resorts in the province. It also offers water quality figures for water purification plants as well as information about promenades along waterways. ► Choi Hye-min, Gyeonggi Province Water Resource Headquarters Water Resource Team Head “Water-related information has been provided by several organizations through different systems. We developed this system by integrating the services desired by residents based on a survey and by making the information easier to find and use.” 5. Gyeonggi to Pay Vacation Support of KRW 250,000 to Temporary Employees (0610-2) From this year, Gyeonggi Province will pay vacation support of KRW 250,000 to temporary employees. Subjects of the support include platform, special job and temporary workers with monthly incomes of less than KRW 3 million. Actual vacation funds per individual will be KRW 400,000, of which KRW 250,000 is borne by the province while the remaining KRW 150,000 is deducted from wages. These vacation funds can be used from next month to purchase domestic travel packages through a designated online mall. 6. Gyeonggi Appoints 1,907 Firefighters to Heatwave Response Teams (0610-3) ► Gyeonggi to Operate Heatwave Response Teams until September The Gyeonggi Province Fire and Disaster Headquarters has appointed 1,907 ambulance workers to heatwave response teams that will operate until September. Heatwaves are expected to arrive earlier than normal with the number of related days also expected to increase this year. During this period, ambulances will be equipped with heatwave treatment devices including ice vests, ice packs and saline solution for emergency treatment while callers will also be provided with relevant emergency medical advice.   7. Gyeonggi Launches Underground Construction Site Safety Keepers (0611-1) ► 111 Underground Safety Keepers visit 24 Construction Sites in 9 Cities and Counties Amid rising construction site safety concerns stemming from underground incidents such as sinkhole occurrences, Gyeonggi Province has undertaken underground safety management. To this end, 111 specialists known as ‘Gyeonggi Underground Safety Keepers’ will operate in teams that provide on-site safety management at 24 underground construction sites in 9 cities and counties of the province from June 9 to 12. The province will encourage local governments to secure their own budgets to continue local operation of the teams. ► Park Yeong-su, Deputy Director, Gimpo City Construction Permission Team 1 “We have had great difficulties in performing safety inspections of underground construction sites due to a lack of related manpower and teams. The Gyeonggi Underground Safety Keepers will significantly help prevent accidents through on-site inspections at construction sites in our city.” ◇ Thank you for joining us for this week’s edition of GTV. We look forward to seeing you again next week.