1: Gyeonggi Call Center: KS Certified

[News Script]
The Gyeonggi Call Center, which has been providing telephone response services for inquiriescivil applications, has obtained KS certification. This indicates central government recognition of the excellence of the services offeredthe Gyeonggi Call Center,also provides a good promotional foundation for the center.

[Report]
The Gyeonggi Call Center became the first provincial call center among those operatedKorean provincial governments to obtain a KS Certificate in the Call Center Service category.

KS Certification for Call Center Serviceinstitutional certification grantedthe Korean central government to call center operators that provide services of higher quality than requiredKorean industrial standards.

Since its launch in 2007, the Gyeonggi Call Center has provided provincial residents with requested informationresolved a variety of civil applicationsphone. The quality of the service has been so highly regardedprovincial residents that the satisfaction level has reached 95.7%.

By calling 120anywhere in Gyeonggi Province, residents can receive assistancecall center representatives on a wide variety of issuespassport applicationstraffic information to general complaints.

From the beginning of this year, the call center hours have been extendednormal office hours during weekdays to 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The service has also been upgradedminimizing call transfersimproving the service attitude that used to be a typical source of complaints about public offices. Gyeonggi Province considers KS certification as an opportunity to publicize the high quality services of the Gyeonggi Call Center both internallyexternally.

The Gyeonggi Call Centerthe easiest channel for provincial residents to access the services of Gyeonggi Province,KS certification will further improve the service quality of the center.

2: G-Trade Website Provides Export Consultation to Small & Medium-sized Enterprises

[News Script]
There are many smallmedium-sized enterprises that wish to export their products but find this difficult due to a lack of trade information. The Gyeonggi Small & Medium Business Center has modified the G-Trade website to provide comprehensive trade information to such companies.

[Report]
Thisthe G-Trade website, which has been restructured, renovatedreopenedthe Gyeonggi Small & Medium Business Center. It has a new layout that allows s searching for overseas trade information to easily access the sought-after material.

The Daily Trade NewsGlobal Market Information pages will provide useful overseas marketbuyer informationinternational sources

This site also provides the one-on-one export consultation services of 54 specialists online.

Gyeonggi Provinceimplementing a variety of programs to help smallmedium-sized enterprises launch their products overseas. The UT Program, for example, focuses on the US market,the ongoing G-Fair events have been providing support for smallmedium-sized enterprises as well as venture companies seeking new overseas business partners.

Export salessmallmedium-sized enterprises in Gyeonggi Province accounted for 48.4% of the total provincial exports last year, whichmuch higher that the national average of 32.3%. Moneywise, Gyeonggi Province has also ranked first in exports for 15 consecutive months since July last year.

3: Gyeonggi Province Convened an International Meeting to Discuss Effective Aid for North Korea

[News Script]
For the first time among autonomous bodies since the government’s initiative last September of organizing flood aid, Gyeonggi Province delivered flood relief to North Korea. A meeting followed afterwards to discuss effective means of providing further aid to North Korea.

[Report]
The proscons of North Korean aid werethe issue during this meeting, which was held for 3 daysNovember 15th to 17th. Instead, the participants discussed effective ways of providing aid to North Korea. Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Moon-Soo (김문수) stressed the necessity of providing aid to North Korea at the press meeting which was held before the convention in the presence of the representatives of domesticinternational organizations.

Gyeonggi Province has been playing a leading role among autonomous governments in promoting SouthNorth Korean exchange projects. Gyeonggi Province has previously provided North Korea with support for infantsyoung children and, in October, provincial representatives visited North Korea to deliver medical supplies for the prevention of malaria.

4: Job Fair for Persons with Disabilities

[News Script]
For many with disabilities, it iseasy to find suitable employment. Accordingly, Gyeonggi Province organized a special event to help them find jobs. Our reporter was there to witness the enthusiasm of over 1,000 persons with disabilities in their search for employment.

[Report]
The hallthe job fair took placepacked with people with disabilities searching for jobs. After looking up job information, they fill in applicationsparticipate in interviews on the spot. Some with hearing disabilities speak with interviewers via sign language. We can see the determination in their faces to find employment.

A total of 42 organizations including 12 large enterprisesa number of officially recognized employers of persons with disabilities participated in this job fair.

There were employment opportunities in a variety of fields such as production, administrationtechnology. Persons with disabilities who visited the fair were busy making the most of this opportunity. However, there also were some complaints voiced.

This job fair was organized based on findingsthe Job Search Ideas Contestthe Successful Employment Essays. However, the necessity was revealed to organize subsequent job fairs for persons with disabilities with careful consideration of the provision of customized jobs as well as the accommodation of those with disabilities of higher severityin a wider range of age brackets.

5: Development of New Medicine to Be Accelerated

[News Script]
In order to help pharmaceutical companies improve the efficiency of new drug development, a future growth engine industry, the Gyeonggi Bio-Center joined with private institutes in the formation of a cooperative tem to support pharmaceutical companies specifically with the development of new drugs.

[Report]
The Gyeonggi Bio-Center in the Gyeonggi Institute of ScienceTechnology Promotionfour private institutes in Gyeonggi Province agreed to work together for the development of new drugs.

This agreement of cooperation between publicprivate organizationsexpected to maximize technical advancementefficiency in the development of new drugs.

The Acceleration Support Project for New Drug Developmenta joint project among the Gyeonggi Bio-Centerfour private organizations including Equis & Zaroothe Catholic University of Korea. It aims to help pharmaceutical companies improve the efficiency of their new drug developmentproviding them with services that incorporate tematictime-saving development processes.

The Boryung (보령) pharmaceutical company will become the first beneficiary of support for researchdevelopment when they sign an agreement with the Gyeonggi Bio-Center.

This support project will provide technical resources to those pharmaceutical companies in need of progressive support for new drug development. Gyeonggi Province encourages participationsmallmedium-sized venture companies in this project,plans to provide extensive support for pharmaceutical companies, the key players in biotechnology, so as to strengthen their competitive powers.

6: Youths Learn Life through Volunteer Services

[News Script]
Although busy cramming for intensively competitive university entrance examinations, many youths are reaching out to their neighborscommunities as volunteers. To recognizeencourage these young people, a special event has been organized.

[Report]
The Youth Volunteer Service Convention was held for the purpose of promoting public awareness of the importance of youth volunteer services in local communitiesencouraging participation.

This annual convention, which marked its 13th this year, was organized to enhance the understanding ofcooperation in volunteer activitiesyouths as well as to promote social awareness of the importance of youth volunteer activities

This event began with performancesyouth groups that were followedthe presentation of awards to meritorious youth volunteers. Also, there were booths exhibiting youth volunteer activities.

Jeon Mi-Na (전미나)the Hankuk Academy of Foreign Studies in Yongin (용인) won the Minister of Gender EqualityFamily Award,three other individualsone organization also received prizes of merit.

This Youth Volunteer Service Convention was an opportunity for youths to learn how they can live their lives as members of society who help neighbors in need.

Youths who willingly shared their heartstime with neighbors in need, even they were under the intense pressure of university entrance exams, are valuable assets in society. It will be these young people who will lead our society in the future.

7: Gyeongan (경안) Tributary Restored As an Ecological River

[News Script]
The Gyeongan (경안) Tributary once had the stigma of being a prime example of water contamination. Major work has been carried out on this notorious tributary to restore the clarity of its water. Now that the work has been completed, it’s time to assess the current status of the Gyeongan (경안) Tributary.

[Report]

The Gyeongan (경안) Tributary was once considered the major culprit in the worsening of water quality in the Paldang (팔당) area, but extensive work has been carried out to restore it. A group of people gathered to discuss the outcomes of these effortsto plan for the future.

This gathering was organized to assess the results of restoration workinspecting the water qualityecotems of the Gyeongan (경안) Tributaryby surveying Paldang (팔당) Lake.

This on-site visitan assessment teamexpected to lead to positive confirmation of the improvement of water qualitythe restoration of the ecotem of the Gyeongan (경안) Tributary.

As part of the restoration project for the Gyeongan (경안) Tributary, Gyeonggi Province provided on-site education to local residents, who later made substantial contributions to the restoration of the tributary.

Based on the results of the on-site inspectionthe issues raised during the discussion of future plans, Gyeonggi Province plans to further restore the Geongan (경안) Tributary in order to make it one of the best naturalecologically healthy rivers in Korea.