![A worker hoses down a construction site in Seoul on July 28 during a prolonged heat wave. [Yonhap]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/08/25/rcv.YNA.20260728.PYH2026072814610001300_P1.jpg)
The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Tuesday that it had conducted emergency inspections of 30 private construction sites across the city from Aug. 3 to 7, during an active heat wave advisory, finding 31 cases of inadequate heat illness prevention measures and ordering corrective action at each.
The city said it launched the inspections because, while public construction sites undergo comprehensive heat illness prevention checks whenever a heat wave warning is in effect, private sites are relatively harder to oversee and may not be taking sufficient precautions.
Most sites were following basic heat safety rules — providing drinking water and designated rest areas — but some fell short on rest facility management, recording of apparent temperatures, and operation of cooling equipment.
Inspectors focused on the city's five core heat safety guidelines — covering water, shade and ventilation, rest, cooling gear, and emergency response — as well as compliance with rules requiring outdoor work stoppages during high-risk hours.
Under current Seoul rules, when the apparent temperature reaches 33 degrees Celsius, work hours must be adjusted or outdoor work shortened. When a heat wave warning is issued at 35 degrees or above, outdoor work must stop between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. When a severe heat wave alert is declared at 38 degrees or above, all outdoor work except emergency operations must be suspended.
The inspections found violations at sites with construction costs of 2 billion won ($1.45 million) or more, including failure to meet rest facility management standards, failure to log apparent temperatures and response measures, insufficient supplies such as bottled water, non-operation of cooling equipment, and inadequate rest break schedules.
Sites that could make immediate improvements — such as rest facilities lacking air conditioning — were ordered to do so on the spot. Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, construction sites with project costs of 2 billion won or more must maintain rest facilities of adequate size, keep temperatures between 18 and 28 degrees Celsius, and ensure proper ventilation.
Some sites stood out for their strong heat response measures. Inspectors found cases where portable shower facilities had been installed near work areas, and where a nearby studio apartment or an entire floor of a building had been rented to serve as an air-conditioned rest space.
Some sites also separately tracked workers with chronic conditions such as diabetes and hypertension, and logged apparent temperatures and response measures every two hours.
The city plans to share both the deficient and exemplary cases with all 25 autonomous districts for use in managing construction sites. In addition, on Monday the city asked the Ministry of Employment and Labor to revise regulations to make outdoor work stoppages mandatory when the apparent temperature reaches 35 degrees or above, saying the current advisory-only approach makes it difficult to enforce work stoppages on site.
Choi Jin-seok, director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Disaster and Safety Management Office, said the city would "continue to inspect the safety management conditions at construction sites throughout the heat wave response period."
ken@heraldcorp.com
