Gwangju City Opens 'Worker Uniform Laundry Gwang Cleaning' at Hanam Industrial Complex

Installation of Large Washing Machines, Dryers, and Irons... Up to 1,200 Garments Washed Daily

Mayor Lee Yong-seop: "Fruit of Labor-Management-Government Cooperation... Creating a Work-Life Balance Environment"

On the afternoon of the 22nd, Lee Yong-seop, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, attended the opening ceremony of the 'Hanam Industrial Complex Workers' Workwear Laundry Gwang Cleaning' located inside the Hanam Innovation Support Center in Gwangsan-gu, touring the facility with guests. Photo by Gwangju Metropolitan City

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] ‘Gwang Cleaning,’ a professional laundry service for work uniforms of small and medium-sized business workers, has opened in Gwangju Metropolitan City.

On the 22nd, Gwangju Metropolitan City held an opening ceremony for the ‘Hanam Industrial Complex Workers’ Work Uniform Laundry Gwang Cleaning’ at the Hanam Innovation Support Center.

The event was attended by about 30 people, including Mayor Lee Yong-seop, City Council Chairman Kim Yong-jip, Gwangsan District Mayor Kim Sam-ho, Gwangju Regional Employment and Labor Office Chief Im Seung-soon, Gwangju Employers’ Association, labor organization representatives, Hanam Industrial Complex Management Corporation, representatives of companies located in the industrial complex, and workers. The program included a progress report, ribbon cutting, and facility inspection.

Hanam Industrial Complex is an aging industrial complex over 30 years old, with more than 90% of the total companies being businesses with fewer than 50 employees, but most of these businesses do not have their own laundry facilities.

In particular, workers’ uniforms often contain hazardous substances, oil, or dust, which has caused inconvenience as high-priced laundries refuse to handle them altogether.

Previously, Mayor Lee Yong-seop promised to build a laundry facility for workers’ uniforms to improve the welfare environment for workers during the 7th local government term.

Additionally, following the policy proposal from the Gwangju Innovation Committee emphasizing the need for a laundry facility for workers’ uniforms in small and medium-sized businesses such as those in Hanam Industrial Complex, Gwangju City conducted surveys, meetings, and feasibility studies since 2018 and established the laundry facility.

Especially, opinions from labor, economic sectors, administration, small business owners, and civil society were gathered during the planning and operation stages of the laundry facility to promote the project.

The workers’ uniform laundry facility is a two-story building with an area of 223㎡, equipped with three washing machines (35kg, 50kg, 100kg), three dryers (each 100kg), a press-type iron, and collection and delivery vehicles, capable of washing and drying 1,200 uniforms per day.

Any workers employed at small and medium-sized businesses in Hanam Industrial Complex and surrounding industrial complexes can use the service. Spring/autumn uniforms cost 500 KRW per set, and winter and special uniforms cost 1,000 KRW, providing an affordable ‘collection-laundry-delivery’ service.

The frequency of laundry visits per company can be adjusted according to quantity, and various payment and settlement methods such as regular use, one-time use, same-day payment, and end-of-month settlement are available.

The operation is managed by the Gwangju Gwangsan Regional Self-Support Center, with 12 people in charge of laundry work.

Companies wishing to use the workers’ uniform laundry service can apply directly to the laundry facility.

Gwangju City expects that once ‘Gwang Cleaning’ is fully operational, it will not only resolve a long-standing issue for the labor community but also guarantee the health rights of about 27,000 Hanam Industrial Complex workers and their families, improve work convenience, and create jobs for low-income groups.

Furthermore, Gwangju plans to operate the ‘Hanam Industrial Complex Workers’ Work Uniform Laundry Gwang Cleaning’ solidly and, based on its achievements, expand the workers’ laundry service to all industrial complexes in the jurisdiction through cooperation among labor, management, civil society, and government.

Mayor Lee Yong-seop said, “The ‘Workers’ Work Uniform Laundry’ is especially meaningful as it is the fruit of joint efforts by labor, management, civil society, and government from planning to operation,” adding, “Going forward, Gwangju City will do its best to create an environment for work-life balance for workers and realize Gwangju as a city where labor is respected and labor-management coexistence is good for business.”

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