Ministries address heat risks for workers and vulnerable people

The government is expanding welfare checks and workplace safeguards as late-summer heat persists. Heat illnesses from Aug. 8 to Aug. 31 rose from 215 a year in 2011-15 to more than 600 in the most recent 10 years, according to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare is bolstering checks on older people, homeless people and other vulnerable groups. During severe heat warnings, care workers must call or visit high-risk older people twice a day. The ministry has designated 6,363 senior community centers for extended opening through September and told providers to stop outdoor senior-job work, move it indoors or shorten hours. People aged 80 or older accounted for 13 of 21 suspected heat-related deaths reported through Aug. 4.

In 2024, 586 heat illness cases occurred at indoor and outdoor workplaces after Ipchu, 45.1 percent of the total. On Aug. 8, the Ministry of Employment and Labor inspected ground crews working outdoors on an apron with little shade at Gimpo Airport. Runway surface temperatures there recently exceeded 50 degrees Celsius.

At perceived temperatures of 35 degrees Celsius or above, outdoor work other than tasks essential to aviation safety is to stop; unavoidable ground work should use extra staff, shorter shifts and rest. Inspectors found air-conditioned rest areas, but not enough close to dispersed work zones. "A rest facility is not enough simply because it has been installed," Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon said.

Previous talks over more facilities had stalled over sites, costs and management. Korea Airports Corporation will provide sites and infrastructure, while airlines and ground handlers will divide installation and operating costs.