On June 18, while the first heatwave warning of this year went into effect for 20 cities and counties of Gyeonggi Province, a preemptive response was ordered to protect vulnerable groups from the heat.

Gyeonggi Province issued official instructions on June 18 from the Governor of Gyeonggi Province to each city and county of the province to prepare for the heatwave.

In the official instructions, Gyeonggi Province Governor Dong Yeon Kim said, “There are concerns about heat-related illnesses such as heat stroke due to the summer-like temperatures. I encourage each city and county to operate an emergency response system in order to respond preemptively.”

He then asked authorities to strengthen their prediction and public relations activities by monitoring the health status of vulnerable groups – such as solitary seniors and the severely disabled – and recommending outdoor construction site workers and elderly farmers suffering from the heat to rest.

In addition, other advance preparations were ordered including the opening of heat shelters, the installation of heat-mitigating facilities such as shade screens, and publicizing heatwave measures through various public channels.

Under Governor Kim’s orders, Gyeonggi Province began preparing for emergency situations from 11 p.m. on June 18 in coordination with 231 personnel from 20 cities and counties through a joint task force (12 departments in 6 teams), including a situation management team, a welfare task force, and a rescue emergency team.

Gyeonggi Province designated the period from May 20 to September 30 as a heatwave countermeasure period, prioritizing the protection of three groups vulnerable to heatwaves and monitoring the health and well-being of 210,000 households, including those of solitary seniors and the severely disabled. In addition, Gyeonggi Province is intensively reviewing worker safety management at 11,653 small-scale construction sites (projects valued at less than KRW 2 billion), and is promoting preventive measures such as the operation of 8,232 heat shelters and 12,747 heat-mitigating facilities such as shade screens.

On June 18, the Korea Meteorological Administration issued a heatwave advisory for 20 cities and counties in Gyeonggi Province, including Gwangmyeong, Gwacheon, Dongducheon, Yeoncheon, Pocheon, and Gapyeong, as the daytime maximum perceived temperature rose to around 33°C, mainly in the interior of the province, and predicted that the heat would continue until June 19.