[Anchor]
While the intense heatwave has eased somewhat in Seoul and the greater capital area, it remains scorching during the middle of the day.
With the record-breaking heat this summer, reporter Lee Se-hyeon experienced firsthand the daily routine of construction workers who have had to work outdoors every day.
[Reporter]
This afternoon (August 12), at an apartment construction site in Seoul.
Work is in full swing under the scorching sun without a single patch of shade.
Through a thermal imaging camera, the heated ground and the helmet worn by a working laborer are colored identically red.
The reporting team also participated in a simple task.
[Wow, this is so heavy.]
[Perhaps because this is a steel plate, it's quite hot.]
The sensible temperature at the site is currently reaching 34°C (93°F).
And the temperature of the steel plate that I had to carry and move is...
Surpassing a whopping 70°C (158°F).
Because of that, just lifting it and working for a brief moment made the environment hot enough to cause dizziness.
[Ha Geun-ju / Construction Worker: Out of all the years I've been doing this, this summer feels the hottest.]
As the sensible temperature exceeded the threshold of 33°C (91°F), 15 minutes of break time per hour were granted at the site.
Air conditioning units were also operated in resting areas, and the site visited by the reporting team falls on the better side of conditions.
[It's too hot to live. Prepare heatwave countermeasures!]
In a survey conducted by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions targeting around 2,500 construction site workers this summer, about half responded that they are "working without instructions to stop even during heatwaves."
[Um In-su / Senior Vice President, Korean Construction Workers' Union: Only 20.6% of people received all the workplace cooling facilities and personal cooling gear that should be provided according to the revised Occupational Safety and Health Rules.]
This means that even without the minimum protective measures stipulated by law, situations occur at sites where workers simply endure and work for their livelihoods.
In fact, many construction sites came to a complete halt last week when the heatwave reached its extreme, and the field's opinion is that measures are needed since wages decrease accordingly.
[Ha Geun-ju / Construction Worker: The people who come here endure it to some extent, but when it's this hot, I wish they would adjust the early morning hours and utilize methods like early morning shifts...]
Experts advised that especially for outdoor workers with high labor intensity, health and safety monitoring at sites should be further strengthened, and work hours should be operated flexibly, such as starting work early in the morning during heatwaves.
(Video by Yang Ji-hoon | Video Editing by So Ji-hye | Graphics by Kim Min-young)
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