Ministry of Interior and Safety steps up shelter management, seeks best-practice models

A heat shelter in Jung-gu, Seoul [Seoul Metropolitan Government]
A heat shelter in Jung-gu, Seoul [Seoul Metropolitan Government]

The Ministry of Interior and Safety said Thursday it will conduct ongoing inspections of more than 93,000 heat shelters operating across the country in preparation for the summer heat wave season.

Earlier, the ministry, together with the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Employment and Labor and local governments, formed a joint central inspection team in April and spent a month conducting pre-season checks on heat shelters ahead of the official heat wave response period, which runs from May 15 through Sept. 30.

The inspections uncovered more than 1,700 deficiencies. Minor issues — such as missing signage — were addressed on the spot, while problems including incorrect location information and facility inconveniences are being corrected.

On top of that, the ministry said it will closely monitor shelters operated through voluntary participation by financial institutions and railway operators, as well as facilities that extend their hours when a heat wave advisory is issued.

The ministry also plans to identify heat shelters that stand out for tailoring their services to local needs.

The Baebang Youth Free Space in Asan offers a dance studio, table tennis room and reading room, along with a range of education and cultural programs for students. The mobile workers' shelter in Seocho-gu, Seoul, is equipped with exercise machines, blood pressure monitors and massage chairs, and provides labor and legal education sessions and counseling to protect the rights and address the grievances of delivery and other mobile workers.

"The government will continue to monitor conditions at heat shelters throughout the summer to ensure the public can use them without inconvenience, and will actively support the spread of outstanding local operating models nationwide," said Kim Yong-gyun, director general of the Ministry of Interior and Safety's Natural Disaster Management Bureau.


thlee@heraldcorp.com