Mayor Yujinseop's Tailored Policies for Citizens and Transport Workers Draw Attention

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Jae-gil] Jeongeup City in Jeollabuk-do is attracting attention with its swift, customized policies aimed at stabilizing citizens' lives and supporting local transportation workers amid the COVID-19 crisis.

To revitalize the stagnant local economy, the city will provide a three-month reduction in water and sewage fees and emergency support for taxi and freight transportation workers who are experiencing business difficulties due to decreased income caused by COVID-19.

On the 7th, Mayor Yoo Jin-seop held a press conference at Jeongeup City Hall briefing room to announce the key points of these initiatives and support plans.

The city will allocate a total budget of 939 million KRW (268 million KRW from provincial funds and 678 million KRW from city funds) to provide disaster relief funds of 700,000 KRW per person to taxi and freight workers in the region.

The support targets include 597 taxi transportation workers and 744 freight transportation workers (excluding parcel delivery workers), totaling 1,341 people.

Eligible recipients can apply by bringing their ID cards to the City Hall Transportation Department, Taxi Association, Corporate Taxi Companies, or Freight Solidarity from the 11th to the 29th of this month.

The city plans to complete the distribution of support funds by early next month after receiving applications this month.

For chartered bus transportation workers, since there is currently no legal basis for support, the city is reviewing the provision of support funds through the establishment of legal grounds such as amendments to related ordinances and enforcement rules.

To reduce the economic burden on citizens who are facing significant economic and psychological difficulties due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and domestic demand contraction, the city will also pursue reductions in water and sewage fees.

The timing will be promptly implemented once specific criteria, including ordinance amendments to establish the basis for reductions, are prepared.

The reduction targets all 43,095 water users across Jeongeup City, including all citizens and local businesses, without a separate application process.

In particular, small business owners operating small retail stores, wholesale and retail shops, restaurants, beauty salons, lodging facilities, and public bathhouses in general commercial areas are expected to benefit primarily.

From July to September (planned), 50% of the fees used during the three months will be reduced. Through this, households are expected to receive an average monthly reduction of 600 million KRW, general and bathhouse users 400 million KRW, and industrial users 300 million KRW, totaling 3.9 billion KRW in reductions over three months.

Mayor Yoo Jin-seop said, “We will continue to implement various policies to completely and safely overcome the COVID-19 situation and devote all our efforts to helping citizens return to their daily lives. Along with the Jeongeup City emergency disaster income of 100,000 KRW provided to all citizens, we hope this support measure will be a great help in overcoming COVID-19 and stabilizing livelihoods.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.