Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Song Mi-ryung and Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jung Sik on Aug. 6 inspected preparation to respond to the heat wave and prevent related illnesses at a farm in Chungju, Chungcheongbuk-do Province. Shown are seasonal foreign workers at a farm in Jangsu-gun County, Jeollabuk-do Province. (Jangsu County Office)

By Gil Kyuyoung

Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Song Mi-ryung and Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jung Sik on Aug. 6 inspected preparations to respond to the heat wave and prevent related illnesses at a farm in Chungju, Chungcheongbuk-do Province.

The purpose of their visit was to check responses to extreme heat at businesses employing foreign workers vulnerable to sickness caused by high temperatures.

Both ministers visited a lettuce greenhouse to inspect shading and rest facilities and checked supply and demand for the vegetable. They held meetings with farmers and Cambodian workers to listen to their concerns, urging the employers and local governments to protect workers not fluent in Korean from safety and health hazards.

The Labor Ministry designated June to August a "special response period for heat waves, heavy rains and typhoons" and is doing everything it can to prevent workers from getting heat-related illnesses.

Produced in 17 languages and distributed to industrial worksites, the ministry's guide and checklist for preventing such ailments contain basic rules to prevent such illnesses, tips on dealing with each stage of a heat wave and treatment when workers get sick.

The Agriculture Ministry is also raising surveillance and medical services, education and publicity to ensure the safety of farmers and foreign workers in agriculture to prevent heat-related illnesses. It will also distribute guides and videos in eight languages for laborers from abroad to easily learn safety rules when farming.

"When a heat wave strikes, we must be careful about worker protection by suspending work during the day," Minister Lee said. "Because foreign laborers can struggle to communicate, please pay special attention to prevent heat-related illnesses."

gilkyuyoung@korea.kr