Seoul's Seongdong-gu will extend operating hours of its Seongdong Essential and Platform Worker Rest Shelter to include Saturdays throughout July and August to protect essential and mobile workers from the summer heat, district mayor Yoo Bo-hwa announced.
The shelter, located at 111 Seongsuilro, Room 212, was established to improve working conditions and provide rest support for essential and platform workers who have no fixed workplace and move around while on the job.
To allow those workers to use the facility comfortably on weekends during the heat wave, the shelter will open every Saturday — excluding public holidays — from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in July and August, on top of its regular weekday hours.
The Saturday hours were set to match the time slot used by approximately 70 percent of regular shelter visitors. Opening the facility on weekends is expected to help guarantee mobile workers' right to health and rest and contribute to a safer working environment.
Last year, the district ran a pilot Saturday operation for one month in August, which drew high satisfaction ratings from users, some of whom also requested that the operating period be extended.
In response, the district expanded weekend operations this year to cover both July and August, strengthening tailored rest support that reflects user demand.
The shelter maintains appropriate temperature and humidity levels to ensure comfortable rest even during extreme heat and provides iced water to help workers cool down.
Users can also access massage chairs in private rest rooms and charge their mobile phones, helping them recover physically and prepare for safe continued work.
The shelter has established itself as a genuine rest space for mobile workers. A satisfaction survey conducted in the first half of this year recorded an overall satisfaction rate of 96 percent, and 55 percent of users said they visit three or more times a week.
The shelter also runs a counseling program on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. — labor consultations on the second Thursday and psychological counseling on the fourth, each provided by specialists in the respective fields. Appointments can be made in person or through the rapid reservation system on the Seongdong-gu district office website.
"We decided to extend Saturday operations to protect the health of essential and platform workers from the summer heat," district mayor Yoo said. "We will continue to actively reflect the voices from the field and build a shelter where workers can use the space safely and comfortably."
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