Gangwon Province Inspects Job Program in Former Mining Areas... Supporting Job Stability for Home-Based Pneumoconiosis Patients

On-Site Inspections at 20 Locations in Taebaek, Samcheok, Yeongwol, and Jeongseon
Enhancing the Operation of Community Job Projects
Gangwon Province: “Strengthening Jobs in Coal Industry Transition Regions”

Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province (Governor Woo Sangho) has conducted on-site inspections of the “Community Job Project for Coal Industry Transition Regions,” an initiative aimed at ensuring job stability for residents of former mining areas and revitalizing the local economy.

A view of Gangwon Provincial Government Building. Provided by Gangwon Provincial Government

Gangwon Province announced on July 19 that from June 16 to June 30, it carried out field inspections of 20 project sites across four cities and counties designated as coal industry transition regions—Taebaek, Samcheok, Yeongwol, and Jeongseon—for the 2026 community job program.

This inspection was divided into two parts: 12 sites were reviewed by the local governments themselves and 8 sites were jointly inspected by provincial and local authorities. The province focused on checking whether the operations aligned with project plans, the working conditions of participants, subsidy expenditures and accounting document management, as well as safety management measures against extreme summer heat.

As a result of the inspection, it was found that 73 out of the target 78 people (93.6%) are actually working on site. The overall project operations—including attendance management, designation of safety managers, and provision of occupational safety and health education for participants—were also deemed appropriate.

Gangwon Province identified that several sites did not reach their planned recruitment target for the first half of the year and plans to bolster personnel through additional recruitment in the second half.

The province intends to actively consider feedback and improvement requests gathered during the inspection, improve the project’s efficiency, and secure the sustainability of the community job initiative by conducting quarterly progress checks.

In particular, the province will strive to enhance the quality of the project so that it can provide a stable income base for home-based pneumoconiosis sufferers who have been affected by changes in the coal industry structure, as well as vitalize the economy of former mining areas.

Park Yousik, Director-General of the Future Industries Bureau of Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province, stated, “We will continue to carefully listen to feedback from the field and run the job program so that it truly helps residents. Starting next year, we also plan to expand eligible participants to include retired coal miners.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.