Special Management Period for Heatwave and Drought Damage Prevention Implemented as Prolonged Heatwave Expected

Mobilizing All Available Personnel and Resources from Relevant Agencies
Preventing Heat-related Illnesses Among Elderly Farmers and Foreign Workers
Countermeasures to Prevent Crop and Livestock Damage

As the heatwave is expected to persist, the government has designated a "special period for enhanced management of heatwaves and drought" and decided to implement strengthened heatwave countermeasures.

On August 7, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs held a meeting at the Agricultural Disaster Countermeasures Situation Room, presided over by Vice Minister Kim Jonggu, to address prolonged heatwave and drought. The meeting included agencies such as the Rural Development Administration, Korea Forest Service, National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, Korea Rural Community Corporation, and local governments. The agenda was to review the implementation status of countermeasures for each sector, including safety of elderly farmers and foreign agricultural workers, as well as crops and livestock.

Kim Jonggu, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, is presiding over a meeting to review the implementation status of heatwave countermeasures by sector at the Agriculture Disaster Countermeasures Situation Room on the 7th. Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, a heatwave warning has been issued for the Seoul metropolitan area, Gangwon, and Jeolla regions, while most other parts of the country are also under heatwave advisories. Most regions are expected to remain hot without rain for the time being.

In response, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs will upgrade the current disaster countermeasures situation room—previously overseen by the Director of Rural Income and Energy Policy—to a task force directly supervised by the Vice Minister. This "Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Incident Response Headquarters" will be operated jointly with related ministries responsible for heat-related deaths, such as the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Ministry of Health and Welfare, and Ministry of Employment and Labor, as part of a pan-ministerial operational plan.

Additionally, from August 7 onward, the Ministry will designate a special management period for heatwaves and drought. During this time, heatwave countermeasures handled by related agencies will be further strengthened. The Rural Development Administration will expand the deployment of heatwave prevention personnel to safeguard elderly farmers and others, and the Korea Forest Service and local governments will expand surveillance and public information using drones, vehicles, and broadcasting.

Particular emphasis will be placed on protecting the rights and lives of foreign workers, with farmer organizations leading a campaign to highlight the need for sufficient rest during heatwaves. Public awareness efforts, such as infographics, will be used to actively promote that violations of the five basic heatwave response rules may result in penalties. Furthermore, heatwave prevention instructions and reporting guidelines for lack of rest will be sent via SMS in 18 languages to foreign workers.

To minimize livestock deaths, emergency water spraying is being carried out on livestock facilities and their surroundings by the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation and local governments using quarantine vehicles. The Ministry plans to directly identify and support vulnerable farms by expanding on-site water spraying assistance. To minimize sunburn damage to crops such as fruit trees, technical guidance at the field level—such as installing shading nets and operating air circulation fans—will also be further expanded.

Kim Jonggu, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, said, "During the special management period next week, all relevant organizations must do their utmost to minimize fatalities among farmers." He added, "Please continue to closely manage the supply and demand of agricultural and livestock products and make every effort to minimize damage in agriculture by implementing proactive drought countermeasures."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.