SBS News

News > Society

Person in 70s Dies Two Weeks After Heatstroke Diagnosis While Working in Garden Amid Heatwave

Yoo Younggyu

Published : Aug 4, 2026 5:50 AM


▲ A worker tends to a field under a parasol (The photo above is unrelated to the article.)

A person in their 70s has died after receiving treatment for heatstroke for two weeks.

According to Jeonbuk State on the 3rd, 77-year-old A, who had been receiving treatment in the intensive care unit at Jeonbuk National University Hospital, passed away on July 31.

Person A had underlying medical conditions, and their death certificate listed the estimated cause of death as multiple organ failure due to heatstroke.

Person A was found collapsed in a garden in Jeongeup on July 15 and was rushed to the hospital following a report by a care worker, after which they received treatment.

At the time, the daytime high in Jeongeup had soared to 31°C (88°F), and a heatwave advisory was in effect.

Jeonbuk State, having been notified of Person A's death by Jeongeup City and other authorities, classified Person A as a heat-related illness fatality based on the death certificate and reported the case to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

If approved by the KDCA, the number of heat-related illness deaths in Jeonbuk will increase to three, including Person A.

On July 26, a person in their 90s working in a field in Hadong, Gimje, collapsed from heatstroke and died, and three days later, another person in their 90s collapsed and died from heatstroke in a field in Cheongha-myeon, Gimje.

(Photo: Yonhap News)