[New Year Special] How Gangwon-do Changes in the New Year

Economic Vitality · 5 Key Areas Closely Related to Daily Life · 85 Tasks

[Asia Economy Reporter Ra Young-cheol] Gangwon Province will increase allowances for farmers and fishermen as well as childcare allowances starting this year. It also aims to revitalize the non-face-to-face economy by operating the public-private cooperative delivery app 'Ildansikyeo' and establishing a 'Global ICT Convergence Studio.' Additionally, a new allowance for farmers and fishermen will be introduced to address the depopulation of rural communities, providing an annual payment of 700,000 KRW.

On the 4th, Gangwon Province announced 85 '2021 policy and system changes' across five major areas closely related to residents' daily lives. Significant changes are expected in economic vitality with residents, realization of customized jobs and welfare, and fostering prosperous rural communities.

■ Economic Sector

With the expansion of green mobility to promote low-carbon distributed energy, starting in March, subsidies will be provided to sales companies for electric vehicles newly purchased by residents registered in the province. To facilitate hydrogen refueling for hydrogen electric vehicle users and tourists, the operation of hydrogen refueling stations will be gradually expanded at major hubs and cities within the province starting in March.

In the first half of the year, the 'Gangwon Gift Certificate' will expand its distribution to the online market, starting with usage at province-operated shopping malls and gradually expanding to on- and offline stores (Gangwon Gift Certificate affiliated stores) for convenient use. From February, to stabilize the management of small business owners in the province, the entire guarantee fee (up to 800,000 KRW per company) will be supported when providing loan funds.

Funds for fostering small and medium enterprises will be expanded to all industries with five or more regular employees on an ongoing basis (until funds are exhausted). Special guarantees for low-credit small and medium enterprises will be newly supported to provide financial liquidity to companies facing management crises due to prolonged COVID-19, low credit ratings, etc., to stabilize management and prevent closures or bankruptcies (up to 10 billion KRW until funds are exhausted).

Additionally, from January, the Yellow Umbrella Hope Subsidy support will be expanded for small businesses and small merchants who are Yellow Umbrella subscribers (existing and new), and the living wage target will be expanded to a monthly salary of 2,140,000 KRW (based on 209 hours) or 10,252 KRW per hour.

■ Participation Policy Sector

A 'Resident Direct Participation Autonomous Legislation Platform' will be established to automate the entire process of resident petitions, including resident ordinances and referendums, online petitions, and electronic signatures, thereby expanding opportunities for resident legislative participation (established in 2021, implemented in 2022). In September, the provincial policy proposal portal will be unified and revamped as 'Gangwon Toktok' to make it easier for residents to submit opinions and participate in provincial administration.

To inherit the peace values and legacy of the '2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics,' the 'Olympic Memorial Hall,' a space representing the emotional impact of the Olympics, will be opened and operated free of charge year-round. To discover future growth engines for Gangwon Province, forums and knowledge-sharing sessions will be held by inviting experts from various fields such as science and technology (about six times a year).

Starting this month, a project to transform private museums and art galleries into cultural tourism resources will be promoted. Through this, registered private museums and art galleries in the province will be supported and transformed into complex cultural experience facilities to lead regional tourism. Also, following the completion of the peace region cityscape pilot project last year, a 'Peace Region Premium Cityscape Contest' will be promoted this year for continuous cityscape improvement. From February, a solution for creating 'representative restaurants' reflecting the characteristics and individuality of the peace region will be provided intensively.

■ Jobs and Welfare Sector

From this month, the basic childcare allowance, which is the first of its kind nationwide and implemented on a regular basis, will be increased by 100,000 KRW. Compensation for COVID-19 related losses can be claimed regardless of the year, and the target for basic pensions (up to 300,000 KRW per month) will be expanded and paid. Customized job policies for youth, startup companies, career-interrupted women, and persons with disabilities will be promoted centered on the 'Job Foundation' launched in July last year.

Existing public work programs will be newly transformed into happy jobs, providing jobs to households with less than 70% of the median income (with assets under 300 million KRW). The Gangwon-type future workforce development project will also be implemented to nurture specialized personnel needed by key industries in Gangwon (e-mobility, medical device industry, etc.) and small and medium enterprises. From July, the Gangwon-type job security deduction will support lump-sum savings for workers (regular and indefinite contracts) of small and medium enterprises.

The criteria for providing job-seeking activity support funds to unemployed youth in the province will be expanded by removing the graduation requirement and setting the household income recognition standard between 120% and 150% of the median income. Senior jobs will increase by about 3,300 compared to last year, and starting with Yeongwol and Jeongseon counties, a service will be provided to collect, wash, dry, and deliver large bedding free of charge for vulnerable groups such as elderly living alone or with mobility difficulties.

Additionally, from January, the Disability Employment Promotion Incentive will be supported to reduce the burden on employers for hiring persons with disabilities and to promote stable employment and retention of disabled workers. Job-seeking activity support funds for career-interrupted women will be expanded up to 3 million KRW (500,000 KRW × 6 months), and from February, customized employment services such as women's job and startup clubs will be provided to strengthen employment and startup expertise and practical experience.

■ Safety Sector

To effectively prevent African Swine Fever (ASF), a 'wide-area hunting ground' will be established in the central region of Gangwon Province to drastically reduce the number of wild boars and prevent the southward spread of the disease. To secure traffic safety for elementary school students commuting to and from school and reduce fine dust, the 'Child Safety Green Forest Creation' project will be promoted from January by planting trees in child protection zones to create forests.

Starting this year, mandatory separate disposal of colorless PET bottles in apartment complexes will be enforced. Previously, colorless PET bottles and synthetic resin containers were disposed of together, but in apartment complexes, colorless PET bottles must be separated from synthetic resin containers. This will apply to single-family homes starting December this year. From this month, inspections of children's activity spaces (general and detailed inspections) will be conducted on-site by the Health and Environment Research Institute, the only legal inspection agency in the province.

Support funds for replacing household low-NOx boilers to improve air quality and save energy will be increased by 100,000 KRW from January. Due to partial amendments to the Water Environment Conservation Act Enforcement Rules (effective January 1, 2020), the scope of industries subject to ecological toxicity regulations for water pollutants will be expanded from 35 types to all industries starting this year.

Partial amendments to the Air Environment Conservation Act Enforcement Decree (effective May 27, 2020) strengthen penalties for failure to conduct self-measurements at air emission workplaces and tighten related standards such as reporting measurement results. Facilities exempt from prevention equipment must also conduct self-measurements at least once a year. The Han River Basin water pollution total amount control system will be fully implemented, and the audibility of village broadcasts will be expanded in areas where village halls are far and broadcasts are difficult to hear, enhancing disaster prevention and response capabilities.

■ Rural Development Sector

A new allowance for farmers and fishermen will be introduced to address the depopulation of rural communities, providing an annual payment of 700,000 KRW. The payment method will be through provincial and city/county gift certificates to minimize capital outflow from the province and promote a virtuous cycle to revitalize the local economy.

To completely block the introduction of the African Swine Fever (ASF) virus into farms, quarantine facility standards will be strengthened to reduce the risk of outbreaks in pig farms in high-risk areas. Eight major quarantine facilities must be installed or supplemented by May 15 this year.

Additionally, to enable early detection and containment of suspected infected animals through measuring 'fever,' an early symptom of ASF that is not visually identifiable, thermal imaging cameras will be provided to pig farms. Environmentally friendly agricultural products will be provided for one year to pregnant women or residents within one year after childbirth.

The number of supported equipment items for coastal hook-and-line fishing vessels will increase to nine (adding a double-cylinder steering gear), and the support unit price will be set within 5 million KRW per vessel to reduce the management burden on small-scale fishermen.

The 'Fisheries Public Interest Direct Payment System' will be introduced and implemented from March to strengthen the public interest function of fisheries. It will operate with four types of direct payments according to public interest characteristics: ▲Disadvantaged Area Direct Payment ▲Management Transfer Direct Payment ▲Fisheries Resource Protection Direct Payment ▲Eco-friendly Fisheries Direct Payment. From this month, the 'Low Capability Cow Culling' project for Hanwoo farms will be promoted to produce and supply excellent calves by early culling of low capability cows.

Beekeepers with a certain scale must register, including ▲10 or more native bee colonies ▲30 or more Western bee colonies ▲30 or more colonies when raising both native and Western bees. The registration period will be extended to August 31, and requirements will be relaxed.

Local government subsidies for agricultural policy insurance (crop disaster insurance, comprehensive agricultural machinery insurance, agricultural safety insurance) that compensate for physical and property damage to farmers caused by natural disasters and agricultural work will be increased from this month (farmer burden rate reduced from 15% to 10%).

Additionally, from February 12, owners of dangerous dogs must compulsorily subscribe to liability insurance to compensate for damages caused by their dogs. Livestock product processors (dairy and egg processing) and edible egg sorting and packaging operators must obtain certification as HACCP-certified workplaces to operate legally.

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