Gyeonggi Province to Train 50 Consumer Dispute Resolution and Counseling Professionals

[Suwon Ilbo = Reporter Park No-hun] Gyeonggi Province is recruiting participants for the ‘2nd Gyeonggi Province Consumer Education Citizen Instructor (Professional Counselor Course)’ through the 25th to train professional counselors to handle consumer dispute resolution and counseling services.

The training is open to Gyeonggi Province residents aged 18-34 interested in consumer affairs, or career-interrupted women aged 49 or under. The recruitment target is 50 people.

From June 8 to 30 (total 32 hours), the province will provide free training covering consumer counseling practice, consumer laws including the Consumer Basic Act and Civil Act, and field-specific consumer damage remediation cases to prepare for the consumer professional counselor exam.

The training will be conducted in compliance with quarantine guidelines, combining in-person classes for minimum attendance and real-time online classes.

The training will feature instructors including lawyer Kim Hee-ran from Law Firm Leaders, lawyers Lee Hee-gyeong and Lee Sun-joo from the Korea Consumer Agency, experts from Gyeonggi Province's dispute mediation consulting team, and damage remediation experts from the Korea Consumer Agency's Gyeonggi Branch.

Course graduates will receive practical training opportunities at consumer counseling organizations such as the Gyeonggi Province Consumer Information Center from the second half of this year, and may work as professional counselors at consumer counseling organizations depending on their practical training performance.

Kim Ji-ye, director of Gyeonggi Province's Fair Trade Bureau, stated, “As COVID-19 persists, consumer disputes have increased in wedding halls, fitness centers, e-commerce, and other sectors, making the need for professional staff to handle consumer counseling even more urgent,” and added, “We hope this course will enable youth and career-interrupted women facing job search difficulties to obtain professional qualifications, and we plan to operate it in a way that can connect them to economic activity opportunities.”

The 1st Gyeonggi Province Consumer Education Citizen Instructor Course began operating in October of last year, with 50 graduates completing the program.

The 1st cohort graduates are currently participating in the practical training course at the Gyeonggi Province Consumer Information Center.

To apply for the 2nd cohort citizen instructor course, applicants should complete the application form attached to the notice board on the Gyeonggi Province Consumer Information Center website (www.gg.go.kr/gg.info_center) and submit it to the Consumer Information Center email (ggconsumer@gg.go.kr).

For inquiries regarding this course, contact the Gyeonggi Province Consumer Information Center at 031-888-9850.