Prime Minister Han urges cross-ministry heat wave response, calls for stronger protection of vulnerable groups

Prime Minister Han Seong-sook on Sunday issued emergency instructions to related ministries and local governments to actively respond to their respective responsibilities as the heat wave intensifies and drought damage concerns emerge in some regions.

Han called on the Ministry of Health and Welfare to strengthen protective measures for vulnerable groups — including elderly people living alone and residents of low-income lodging houses — by inspecting cooling operations at facilities they use and conducting regular welfare checks. She also directed the Ministry of Employment and Labor to supervise and inspect compliance with basic heat safety rules at logistics centers and construction sites, including work stoppages during the hottest hours of the day.

Han also instructed the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to use village broadcast systems to urge elderly farmers to refrain from strenuous outdoor fieldwork and to conduct on-site inspections in cooperation with local governments. She directed the Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy to monitor power reserve rates frequently to ensure stable electricity supply despite a surge in cooling demand, and to closely manage drinking and local water supply in drought-vulnerable areas.

Han called on the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to provide support to minimize livestock and farmed fish deaths.

She further directed the Ministry of Interior and Safety to review the progress of heat wave countermeasures across ministries and local governments, and to actively coordinate and support cross-ministry response efforts.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Interior and Safety announced it would raise the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters to Level 2 as of 1 p.m. Sunday to strengthen the pan-government response to the prolonged nationwide heat wave.

Interior and Safety Minister Yun Ho-jung directed officials to reinforce a field-centered response system, including weekly or daily on-site inspections led by senior officials from central ministries and local governments.