Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
Gov't to conduct inspections to protect foreign workers from heat
A foreign worker from Vietnam picks a tangerine from a tree at a farm on Jeju Island in this Nov. 1, 2023 file photo. The government said Sunday it will conduct inspections of 120 workplaces over the next 10 days to protect foreign workers from heat-related illnesses amid scorching temperatures. Newsis
By Jung Min-ho
The government will conduct inspections of 120 workplaces over the next 10 days to protect foreign workers from heat-related illnesses amid scorching temperatures.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor said Sunday its inspectors plan to check the working and living conditions in farms, factories and other workplaces that primarily rely on foreign workers for their operations from Monday to Aug. 7.
The inspectors will check whether their housing facilities, provided by the business owners, are equipped with proper systems for air conditioning and water supplies. They also plan to inspect whether the ministry’s guidelines on reducing the risk of heat-related incidents have been followed.
As part of its effort to better protect foreign workers, the ministry will provide them with its heat safety guidelines translated into 17 different languages.
The guidelines advise employers to provide sufficient water, break areas where workers can take a rest from sunlight and minimize outside working hours amid heat advisories.
Heat wave alerts have been issued for Seoul and much of Korea. According to the national weather agency, intense heat is forecast to continue until at least early August.