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. COVID-19 Vaccinations for Unregistered Foreign Residents and Workers in Gyeonggi (0831) In Gyeonggi Province, unregistered foreign workers and residents can voluntarily receive the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine without revealing their immigration status. With 76 thousand doses available, the province has already vaccinated 13 thousand such individuals. The voluntary vaccinations are available at public health centers and vaccination centers until September 18. Reservations can be made by phone or in person. ◇ Gyeonggi Launches Integrated Provincial Facility Reservation System (0831) The Gyeonggi Public Facility Utilization Service, an online search, reservation and payment system for the use of public facilities, will be expanded to all 31 cities and counties of the province. This province-wide reservation system will integrate individual local government systems which, lacking online reservation services, require users to make reservations by phone or in person. Through the Gyeonggi Public Facility Utilization Service, members of the public can now reserve public facilities anywhere in the province instead of through individual systems operated by the province and provincial organizations. ◇ Gyeonggi Doubles ‘Anti-COVID-19 Small Business Bank Account Support’ Limit (0902) Gyeonggi Province recently announced plans to increase the limit of its Anti-COVID-19 Small Business Bank Account Support so as to promote COVID-19-impacted backstreet commerce. This program, the first of its kind among Korean autonomies, was launched by Gyeonggi Province in January to help small businesses in the province overcome difficulties they face during the pandemic by improving their capital turnover and liquidity. The province intends to enhance the effectiveness of this support by doubling the support limit from the current KRW 10 million to KRW 20 million per business. ◇ Gyeonggi-do Fire Services Introduce 3-Way Video Call System for Hearing Impaired (0827) The Gyeonggi-do Fire Services has developed a 3-way video call system for individuals with hearing impairments that encompasses the Sign Language Connection Center. This system enables those with hearing impairments to use a sign language translation service through a 3-way video call when they contact the Disaster Control Center via the 119 emergency number. In addition, this year’s 119 Status Management Guidelines will include 10 sign language sentences most frequently used during emergency calls. ◇ 12 Private Inter-city Bus Routes transitioned to Public Operation (0831) Twelve privately operated intercity bus routes in Gyeonggi Province were transitioned to public operation by the province with the first bus departing on September 1. There are a total of 110 buses operating on these 12 routes that run through five cities: Gwangmyeong (광명), Yongin (용인), Paju (파주), Pyeongtaek (평택) and Hwaseong (화성). All necessary procedures for this management transition have been completed beginning with the transportation operator bid announcement made on June 23 followed by operator selection and preliminary route inspections. ◇ Online Loan Sharks Uncovered in Gyeonggi (0902) The Gyeonggi Province Special Judicial Police for Fairness recently uncovered a number of a new online loan sharking crimes. During a month-long investigation undertaken jointly with Gyeonggi’s southern and northern provincial police agencies from July 12, a total of 23 loan sharks were apprehended, of which 12 were sent to prosecution while the remaining 11 are still being investigated before prosecution. ◇   Smart Industry Job Fair for Disabled in Gyeonggi (0901) On September 1, the 2021 Gyeonggi Province Smart Industry Job Fair for Individuals with Disabilities opened online for a 10-day run. For this job fair, the province is actively promoting participation by smart industry enterprises so as to help increase the employment rate and create quality jobs for individuals with disabilities. A variety of services are available to those who visit this online job fair, including job matching and interviews, employment consultations, and resume preparation assistance. Those seeking employment can utilize these services via the job fair website until September 10. ◇ Thank you for joining us for this week’s edition of GTV. We look forward to seeing you again next week.