SEOUL: South Korean companies are extending rest periods, reshaping work schedules and expanding access to cooling equipment, as record heat raises the risk of workplace injuries. But the measures also reveal a divide between large employers able to invest in protection and workers at smaller and outdoor worksites who remain exposed.
The response comes as temperatures reach unprecedented levels across the country. Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, recorded a national high of 42.5 degrees Celsius, while Seoul has remained under the highest-level heatwave warning for days.
According to data submitted by Rep. Kim Wi-sang of the ruling People Power Party, the Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service recognised 195 heat-related occupational accidents between 2022 and June this year, including 20 deaths.
Thirteen cases, four of them fatal, had already been recognised this year by the end of June, before the usual July-August peak.
Employers have faced growing legal and regulatory pressure to better protect workers from extreme heat, particularly since a district court last year convicted a construction company under the Serious Accidents Punishment Act over the heatstroke death of a subcontractor’s employee. It was the first conviction under the law involving a heatstroke death.
Construction companies, which account for a disproportionate share of industrial fatalities, have been among the most active.
Hyundai Engineering & Construction rewards workers for taking breaks in designated rest areas, while Lotte E&C uses an Internet of Things-based monitoring system at about 80 construction sites to measure perceived temperatures every five minutes and classify heat risks into five levels.
Daewoo E&C allows workers who feel physically unwell to stop working without fear of penalty.
Some companies have also introduced measures tailored to migrant workers. Hyundai E&C has distributed emergency reporting guides in 22 languages and provided cooling vests with built-in fans and oral rehydration solutions to workers considered particularly vulnerable to heat.
Kumho E&C has partnered with Lotte Chilsung Beverage to provide bottled water, sports drinks, cooling towels and portable shelters at construction sites through September.
Heavy industries that cannot easily suspend operations during heatwaves are tightening work-and-rest schedules.
Posco, whose blast furnaces operate around the clock, requires workers to rest for 15 minutes after every 45 minutes of work when the perceived temperature exceeds 35 C. When it rises above 31 C, workers rest for 10 minutes after every 50 minutes.
Hyundai Steel requires at least 10 minutes of rest every hour when perceived temperatures exceed 31 C and at least 15 minutes when they rise above 35 C.
Shipbuilders have also extended rest periods during the peak summer season.
Hanwha Ocean has doubled its morning and afternoon breaks from 10 minutes to 20 minutes through the end of August, regardless of temperature. It also extends lunch breaks by 30 minutes when temperatures exceed 28 C and by one hour when they rise above 31.5 C.
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has lengthened lunch breaks from one hour to 90 minutes through the end of August and operates more than 270 cooling facilities across its shipyards. Workers are also provided with cooling vests, ice water and electrolyte supplements.
Samsung Heavy Industries has formed a dedicated task force to coordinate heat-response measures and deploy additional portable cooling equipment.
SK hynix has introduced longer rest periods during extreme heat, while Coupang has expanded ventilation, air conditioning and other climate-control systems at its logistics facilities.
The measures, however, are concentrated largely among major companies with the resources to install cooling systems and reorganise work schedules.
Of the 195 heat-related occupational accidents recognised since 2022, more than half occurred at workplaces with fewer than 50 employees. Forty-two occurred at businesses with fewer than five workers.
Labour experts and lawmakers say employees at smaller businesses often have less access to safety personnel, cooling equipment and adequate rest facilities, leaving them especially vulnerable during extreme weather.
Migrant workers in agriculture and other outdoor jobs also remain heavily exposed.
Last month, a Thai seasonal worker died while working in a field in Haenam, South Jeolla Province, and a Vietnamese national died while working outdoors on a farm in Goesan, North Chungcheong Province.
Kim urged the government to move beyond what he described as a focus on large workplaces and strengthen inspections and practical protections for seasonal migrant workers and employees at small outdoor worksites. – Korea Herald/ANN
