Daegu Mayor Choo Kyung-ho, accompanied by Daegu City Council Speaker Lim In-hwan and Jung-gu District Chief Ryu Gyu-ha, inspects cooling shelters and heat wave response systems at a low-income housing district on Seosung-ro in Jung-gu on Saturday afternoon, and encourages welfare workers at the scene. [Provided by Daegu City]
Daegu Mayor Choo Kyung-ho, accompanied by Daegu City Council Speaker Lim In-hwan and Jung-gu District Chief Ryu Gyu-ha, inspects cooling shelters and heat wave response systems at a low-income housing district on Seosung-ro in Jung-gu on Saturday afternoon, and encourages welfare workers at the scene. [Provided by Daegu City]

Daegu Mayor Choo Kyung-ho visited vulnerable residents in low-income housing districts Saturday after the city issued its first heat wave warning of the year.

According to Daegu City, Choo visited a low-income housing district on Seosung-ro in Jung-gu that afternoon alongside Daegu City Council Speaker Lim In-hwan and Jung-gu District Chief Ryu Gyu-ha. The group inspected the operation of cooling shelters and the city's heat wave response systems, and encouraged residents and welfare workers at the scene.

The Korea Meteorological Administration issued the city's first heat wave warning of the year Saturday morning. Daytime highs exceeded 38 degrees Celsius, with the apparent temperature expected to approach 40 degrees. Forecasters said the heat wave and tropical nights are expected to continue for now.

Choo, who has emphasized public safety and residents' livelihoods as the top priorities of his administration since taking office, made the low-income housing district — where air conditioning is often inadequate — his first stop after learning of the heat wave warning.

He visited Haengbok Naneum-ui Jip, a welfare facility for residents of the Seosung-ro low-income housing district in Jung-gu, and Myeongsin Yeogwan, a cluster of low-income lodgings in the nearby Bukseong-ro area, checking the operation of cooling shelter air conditioning systems and heat wave response measures.

Choo then held a meeting with officials from the Daegu Low-Income Housing Counseling Center, received a briefing on the progress of special summer heat wave protection measures, and discussed support options after hearing the difficulties and suggestions of workers caring for residents on the ground.

Daegu Mayor Choo Kyung-ho visits a low-income housing district Saturday afternoon to inspect the operation of cooling shelters and heat wave response systems. [Provided by Daegu City]
Daegu Mayor Choo Kyung-ho visits a low-income housing district Saturday afternoon to inspect the operation of cooling shelters and heat wave response systems. [Provided by Daegu City]

Daegu City established its "2026 Summer Protection Plan for the Homeless and Low-Income Housing Residents" in May and has been implementing measures to protect heat-vulnerable groups — including building an emergency response network with relevant agencies, operating cooling shelters, providing emergency overnight accommodations, conducting facility safety inspections and distributing cooling supplies.

"I am deeply grateful to the counseling center staff and welfare workers who remain on the ground for residents even in heat approaching a feels-like temperature of 40 degrees," Choo said.

He added that "on days when a heat wave warning is issued, there must be no gaps whatsoever in safety management for vulnerable groups," urging officials to "recognize extreme heat as a disaster directly linked to the lives of citizens and respond accordingly."


kbj7653@heraldcorp.com