Gov. Kim Dong-yeon Visits Traditional Market, Fire Department, and Welfare Facilities on First Day of Lunar New Year Holiday

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Kim Kap-dong] Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon visited Jowon Market in Suwon, Suwon South Fire Station, and a social welfare facility located in Gunpo on the 14th, the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday, to check on people's livelihoods ahead of the holiday.

Governor Kim first visited Jowon Market, located in Jowon-dong, Suwon, at 11 a.m. that day. The visit to Jowon Market was arranged to examine the status of the people's economy ahead of the holiday and to show support for small merchants and traditional market vendors who are facing difficulties due to economic downturn.

Congressman Kim Seung-won accompanied Governor Kim's visit to Jowon Market.

Governor Kim personally shopped at the market by visiting each store and purchasing necessary holiday food items while offering words of encouragement such as "How is business these days?", "I heard your bread is famous. I hope you have a good holiday season," "I hear Jowon Market's kimchi is delicious," and "Wishing you good fortune in the new year and great business."

He then had lunch with members of Jowon Market merchants' association and directly listened to their voices.

After lunch, Governor Kim visited Suwon South Fire Station to encourage firefighters on special alert duty during the Lunar New Year holiday and urged seamless operations during the holidays.

Governor Kim said, "You are public officials that provincial residents trust the most, so I hope you take pride in your work and perform your duties well without any disruptions during the holidays, even though it may be difficult. We are grateful that with you here, we can go about our daily lives and work with peace of mind. I wish you a happy holiday and good fortune in the new year," he encouraged them.

A plaque of appreciation prepared by the firefighters' union was also presented during Governor Kim's visit to the fire station.

Park Yong-woo, chairman of the firefighters' union, said, "We prepared this plaque of appreciation because the governor has resolved the issue of unpaid wages that had been pending for over 10 years in one go."

The province recently decided to pay a total of 34.1 billion won in unpaid overtime allowances to 8,245 current and former firefighters in Gyeonggi Province by March 31, resolving the issue of unpaid overtime allowances that had persisted for 16 years since 2010.

After visiting the fire station, Governor Kim met with reporters and explained the background of the payment decision, saying, "The unpaid overtime allowances for firefighters accumulated significantly, exceeding 34 billion won, which led to litigation. While the court ruled in Gyeonggi Province's favor and determined that we did not need to pay, I thought that considering the passion, dedication, and sacrifice of the firefighters, it was not right to refuse to pay money that should naturally be given simply because the statute of limitations had expired."

As his final schedule, Governor Kim visited Yangji House, a social welfare facility for people with severe disabilities located in Dangjeong-dong, Gunpo. He toured the facility and had conversations with residents with disabilities and staff members. Approximately 30 people with disabilities reside in this three-story building. Yangji House has a connection with Governor Kim's spouse, Jung Woo-young. Jung has been visiting the facility monthly to volunteer.