"Full and Abundant Recovery of People's Livelihoods Like a Full Moon"...Gyeonggi Province Launches Comprehensive Chuseok Holiday Measures

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Kim Gapdong] Gyeonggi Province will implement 'Comprehensive Chuseok Holiday Measures' over seven days from October 3 to October 9 to ensure all residents enjoy a safe and abundant Chuseok holiday.

The province will operate a 24-hour comprehensive situation room and activate emergency duty systems to respond swiftly to any inconveniences and accidents that may occur during the holiday period.

During the holiday period, inconvenience reports and inquiries can be handled 24 hours a day through the Gyeonggi Province Call Center (☎120), and those in need of medical care can receive guidance on open hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies through the Emergency Medical Services Situation Room (☎031-8008-4745).

This year's comprehensive measures are organized into 4 major sectors—livelihood stability, safety & health, culture & welfare, and living environment—comprising 19 detailed measures. The main contents are as follows.

■ Livelihood Stability

To stabilize holiday prices, the province will operate price countermeasure teams with 31 municipalities to conduct surveys on popular items and enforce regulations on price and country-of-origin labeling.

To revitalize traditional markets and alleyway commercial districts, the purchase limit for Gyeonggi Regional Currency will be expanded from a minimum of 500,000 won to a maximum of 2 million won from October 1 to 31, with discount benefits of 10-20% provided by municipality. Social economy shopping malls 'Gongsamilsyop (031#)' and 'Market Gyeonggi' will offer discounts of up to 50% on agricultural, fishery products and social economy goods, and Hanaro Mart stores will hold G-mark agricultural product special sales events.

To ensure food safety, approximately 1,200 popular food manufacturing and retail businesses and online retailers will be inspected, and safety inspections on agricultural, fishery, and livestock products at large distribution facilities will be strengthened. A 24-hour quarantine response headquarters will also be operated to prevent the spread of livestock infectious diseases.

In addition, to protect workers' rights, a wage arrears reporting center (☎031-8030-4541) will be operated, and 'visiting labor rights consultation' will be conducted in crowded areas such as subway stations.

■ Safety & Health

To minimize medical gaps, an emergency medical services situation room will be operated with participation from 72 emergency medical institutions and health centers in 31 municipalities. During the Chuseok holiday, information on 2,222 open hospitals, clinics and pharmacies can be found through call centers (120, 129), the 119 Emergency Management Center, the Emergency Medical Portal (E-GEN), and the emergency medical information app.

Surveillance will be strengthened for respiratory infectious diseases such as COVID-19 and influenza, and waterborne and food-borne infectious diseases. A 24-hour emergency quarantine system will be maintained in preparation for Class 1 infectious diseases such as MERS.

To prevent fires and disasters, 3,745 multi-use facilities including traditional markets and large retail facilities will be inspected, and joint inspections of electric vehicle charging stations, gas, and electricity safety facilities will be conducted.

To prevent security gaps, autonomous police and comprehensive public safety activities will be implemented, and patrol personnel in crime-prone areas will be expanded. Additionally, through monitoring of responses to crimes such as domestic violence and child abuse, emergency measures will be taken swiftly and victims will be separated and protected to minimize protection gaps.

■ Culture & Welfare

During the Chuseok holiday, 10 public museums and art galleries in Gyeonggi Province, including the Nam June Paik Art Center, will be open free of charge. Major programs include △Gyeonggi Provincial Museum 'Yeo Un-hyung: The Path to Korea's Unification' △Yongin City Museum 'Heung.Hwa. Opening the Forgotten Classroom' △Nam June Paik Art Center 'Nam June Paik's City: The Sea Melting into the Sun' △Gyeonggi Provincial Museum of Art 'Climate Crisis Special Exhibition: When Waiting Comes to an End' △Namhansanseong History and Culture Center 'Armed in Silence, Namhansanseong 2.0' △Silhak Museum 'Chusa, Again' △Kim Hong-do Museum of Art 'Everyone's Painting, Kim Hong-do's Tactile Painting' △Hwaseong City History Museum 'Hem of Clothes, Fragment of Memory' △Hwaseong Independence Movement Memorial Hall 'Jo Mun-gi's Time Bomb Has Not Yet Exploded' and △Bucheon City Museum 'Different but Same—Language, Life, Place'. Museums will be closed on Chuseok Day itself, October 6.

Discounts on professional sports viewing will also be provided for seniors aged 70 and above and people with disabilities. Professional football matches (6 teams) and professional basketball games (7 teams) will be held in 7 cities and municipalities including Seongnam, Suwon, Gimpo, Anyang, and Goyang, and home games can be watched for 1,000 won through each team's official website or at-venue purchases.

Care for vulnerable populations will also be strengthened. Welfare checks will be conducted for approximately 160,000 elderly people and people with disabilities through IoT devices, phone calls, and home visits, and free meals and meal boxes will be provided to homeless individuals on the streets. Alternative food items will be supplied to children at risk of missing meals to ensure they do not go hungry during the holiday.

■ Living Environment

During the Chuseok holiday period, management of household waste, special monitoring of environmental pollutant emission facilities, and forest disaster response will be strengthened to minimize inconvenience to residents and environmental damage.

'Processing situation teams' and 'mobile cleaning teams' will be organized in each of the 31 municipalities to immediately respond to complaints regarding household waste—including volume-based, food, and recycled waste—that occur during the holiday period. For residents' convenience, garbage collection schedules will be announced in advance, and mobile teams from municipalities will be deployed if large amounts of garbage accumulate on collection days.

Additionally, intensive monitoring and enforcement will be conducted, focusing on suspected environmental pollution areas in the atmosphere and wastewater sectors. Before the holiday (September 22-30), cooperation notices for voluntary business inspections will be sent, and during the holiday period (October 3-9), major river patrols and special duty situation room operations will be conducted. In particular, the Paldang Water Source Protection Area will utilize 4 surveillance posts (13 civilian police), 5 patrol boats, and 23 CCTVs (8 in Gyeongan Stream, 8 in Namhan River, 7 in Bukhan River) to monitor public safety and enforce regulations against water pollution activities such as littering, camping, and cooking by recreational visitors.

In preparation for forest disasters, a forest disaster response situation room will be operated from October 3 to 9. As of August this year, a total of 85 forest fires have occurred in Gyeonggi Province (22% of the national total), with an affected area of 38.14 hectares (0.04% of the national total). The province will cooperate with related agencies including the Korea Forest Service to prevent spread through helicopter support and personnel mobilization in case of forest fires, and will strengthen monitoring of weather advisories and landslide prediction information to prepare for emergency situations.