Government Strengthens Response System Against Heatwaves, Launches Sector-Specific Emergency Task Forces

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters announced today that it will further strengthen the pan-governmental response system to protect the lives and safety of citizens from the relentless extreme heatwaves.

This follows President Lee Jae-myung emphasizing an all-out response system during the Heatwave and Drought Countermeasures Inspection Meeting held on the 6th.

According to the headquarters, out of the 23 people who died from heat-related illnesses this year as of the 6th of this month, 19 were elderly people aged 65 or older, accounting for 82.6%.

Among the victims, 7 people (30%) died in rural areas such as fields, and 6 people (26.1%) died at indoor and outdoor workplaces.

Accordingly, the government is concentrating its administrative power on field-oriented responses to prevent casualties, focusing particularly on the elderly, agricultural sites, and indoor and outdoor workplaces.

Centering around the headquarters, relevant ministries such as the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and the Ministry of Employment and Labor will establish emergency response organizations, including accident response support headquarters, to promote seamless responses across all sectors.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs will focus on protecting elderly farmers and preventing damage in the agriculture and livestock sectors.

It will visit elderly farmers to distribute cooling supplies and provide on-site medical services through rural mobile clinics.

It will also expand the distribution of preventive items, such as anti-heat stress stabilizers, to minimize damage to livestock and crops.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare will pursue protection measures for vulnerable groups, including elderly people living alone.

It will strengthen customized protection considering the characteristics of vulnerable groups, and intensify on-site monitoring and the provision of cooling supplies.

It will also continuously inspect the operation status of senior centers among heatwave shelters to ensure that seniors aged 65 and older can use them safely.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor will be responsible for inspecting workplaces for outdoor, migrant, and mobile workers.

It will intensively inspect whether workplaces vulnerable to heatwaves, such as construction sites and logistics centers, are implementing work suspension measures according to heatwave warning stages.

In particular, it will thoroughly supervise compliance with the five basic rules for heatwave safety to ensure that all field workers, including migrant workers, can work safely.

The headquarters will hold the Heatwave Disaster Response Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters Meeting involving relevant ministries on the 9th to comprehensively review each agency's response status and discuss additional response measures in preparation for the prolonged heatwave.

Head of the headquarters Yun Ho-jung stated, "In response to the extreme heatwave, centering around the headquarters, relevant ministries and local governments will closely cooperate, concentrating all administrative power so that heatwave and drought measures operate seamlessly in the field."

He added, "Placing the highest priority on protecting the lives and safety of citizens, we are activating a pan-governmental all-out response system."

※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.