Yangcheon-gu convened an emergency meeting Tuesday morning after Seoul issued its first major heat alert, vowing to intensify its field-level response to the ongoing extreme heat.
District Mayor Lee Gi-jae chaired the meeting, attended by all senior officials, to review response systems across key areas — including the operation of cooling shelters and senior safety accommodations, protection measures for vulnerable residents, heat-mitigation facility operations and safety management for outdoor workers. Officials agreed to concentrate administrative resources on securing resident safety in preparation for a prolonged heat wave.
Lee called for stronger safety management for outdoor workers, including adjusted working hours and dedicated rest spaces to prevent heat-related illness. He also urged staff to increase welfare check-ins on heat-vulnerable residents, ensure thorough management of cooling shelters, and pay close attention to water quality and safety at children's water play facilities.
The district has activated its heat response headquarters under the current heat advisory, reinforcing situation management and response systems. It is operating 195 cooling shelters at neighborhood community centers and welfare facilities, along with three senior safety accommodations, and has deployed 1,008 disaster relief workers to conduct regular welfare checks on elderly residents living alone and other heat-vulnerable groups. Smart shade structures, cooling fog systems and air-conditioned rest areas are also in operation to help prevent heat-related illness among residents.
In addition, the district is working with its public health center and three local emergency medical institutions — Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital, Hongik Hospital and Seonam Hospital — to continuously monitor heat-related emergency room cases and rapidly share information when heat illness is suspected in calls to emergency services, in an effort to minimize heat-related harm.
"We will maintain a tight field management system to prepare for a prolonged heat wave and do our utmost to prevent heat damage on the ground, so that residents can spend the summer with peace of mind," Lee said.
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