Extreme Heat Halts 82 Public Construction Sites in Gyeonggi Province…16 Completely Closed

As record-breaking heat waves continue day after day, the majority of construction sites contracted by Gyeonggi Province have come to a standstill.

According to the province on the 6th, 82 out of 98 construction sites contracted by the province have suspended work. This represents 84% of the total.

Among these, 16 sites have halted operations entirely, with no workers reporting for duty.

The number of suspended construction sites increased from 78 on the 4th to 85 on the 5th, then decreased slightly today. Over four days, work has stopped at eight out of every ten province-contracted sites.

The province applies a three-tier standard based on heat index at public construction sites. When temperatures exceed 33 degrees Celsius, workers are given at least a 20-minute break every two hours. When temperatures reach 35 degrees or higher, outdoor work is suspended in principle from 2 to 5 p.m. When temperatures exceed 38 degrees Celsius, all outdoor work except emergency operations is completely halted.

Heat wave alerts were in effect across all 31 cities and counties in the province today. In Yeoju, the daily high temperature reached 39.1 degrees Celsius.

Management of outdoor workers was also implemented. Labor safety inspectors made 124 rounds at sites and inspected 81 outdoor construction sites.

A province official said, "We will maintain level 2 of our disaster safety countermeasures that we elevated from the 3rd and focus on managing outdoor work sites."