Lee Hae-rin is a City Desk reporter at The Korea Times, covering social issues, tourism and taekwondo. She is passionate about speaking up for the rights of minorities, including women, LGBTQ+, people with disabilities and animals as well as discovering the latest makgeolli trend in town. Feel free to reach her at lhr@koreatimes.co.kr.
Deadly heat wave sparks urgent calls for worker protections
Construction site workers in Seoul drink electrolyte drinks during a break amid scorching heat, Wednesday. Newsis
By Lee Hae-rin
Construction, farm workers vulnerable to scorching heat
An unprecedented heat wave in Korea has led to a sharp rise in heat-related illnesses and deaths among outdoor workers, prompting growing calls for stronger legal safeguards and stricter enforcement.
According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, 1,228 cases of heat-related illness and eight suspected deaths were reported nationwide between May 15 and Tuesday. Among them, 238 cases occurred Tuesday.
The figure is a 2.5-fold increase from the 486 cases from the same period last year, underscoring the mounting toll of the global climate crisis. The surge has been especially pronounced since early July, when heat wave advisories covered much of the country.
It also signals an urgent threat to human life, especially for those most vulnerable to extreme heat.
A Vietnamese day laborer in his 20s died at a construction site in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, on Sunday, his first day of work. He was found unconscious, with a body temperature of 40.2 degrees Celsius, sitting on the ground.
Two other fatal heatstroke cases have been reported in the province this year, including farmers aged over 80 who collapsed in fields with body temperatures exceeding 41 degrees.
A farmer wipes away sweat while tending a field in Goryeong, North Gyeongsang Province, Tuesday, as the heat wave continued. Yonhap
Under Korean law, employers could be held criminally liable for heat-related deaths of workers — whether citizens or foreign nationals — if the workplace has five or more regular employees. But labor unions and advocacy groups say the regulations are inadequate and unevenly enforced, leaving the most vulnerable largely unprotected.
The Jeju branch of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) said Wednesday in a statement that “ensuring a 20-minute break every two hours is a basic measure of survival.”
Many workers in the southern resort island’s tourism and service sectors are exposed to extreme heat without adequate rest or protection, and employers fail to guarantee breaks even in dangerously high temperatures, the group noted. “These amount to neglect and dereliction of duty by the state.”
Construction site laborers are working outdoors amid scorching heat in Seoul, Wednesday. Newsis
The KCTU also criticized the Ministry of Employment and Labor for restricting heat wave safety measures to mere “guidance and recommendations.”
The union argued that the absence of binding legal requirements represents a critical policy failure — one that denied workers essential protections such as regular breaks, adjusted hours and mobile cooling equipment, and may have contributed to the recent deaths.
Last year, the National Assembly passed an amendment to the Occupational Safety and Health Act, obliging employers to take necessary measures to prevent heat-related health damage. The ministry subsequently drafted a regulation mandating a 20-minute break every two hours when the perceived temperature exceeds 33 degrees.
However, the Regulatory Reform Committee under the Office for Government Policy Coordination blocked the measure, citing concerns about excessive burdens on small businesses. As a result, the law remains in a state of limbo, with no enforceable details on employer obligations during extreme weather.
During his Monday cabinet meeting, President Lee Jae Myung called for thorough management and inspections to prevent further heat-related fatalities.
In response, the labor ministry has pledged to resubmit the rest break regulation for review by the reform committee and has mobilized all available personnel to enforce five key heat safety rules.