South Korea records sharp rise in suspected heat-related deaths
South Korea’s three hottest summers in nationwide records have coincided with a five-year toll of 138 suspected heat-related deaths, including 34 through August this year.
- South Korea has recorded 34 suspected heat-related deaths so far this year, a sharp increase that is nearly four times the total of nine deaths recorded in 2022.
- Older age groups are disproportionately affected, with individuals aged 60 and over accounting for 73.2% of the 138 total deaths over the last five years.
- The rise in fatalities coincides with a period of extreme heat, as the past three summers have been the hottest since nationwide records began in 1973.
Representative Heo Jong-sik of the Democratic Party of Korea has called for a protection system focused on people most vulnerable to extreme heat.
His appeal followed five-year data showing that suspected heat-related deaths in South Korea were heavily concentrated among older age groups.
“With deaths from heat-related illnesses among the oldest age groups increasing, vulnerable people require particular attention,” Heo said.
“We need to establish a protection system that can manage high-risk groups and respond quickly when they face a crisis.”
Data from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, obtained by Heo, put the five-year toll at 138.
Of those deaths, 34 had been recorded through August this year, following 29 last year, 34 in 2024, 32 in 2023 and nine in 2022.
The current partial-year figure was almost four times the 2022 total.
The data recorded 54 deaths among people aged 80 or above, 27 among those in their 70s and 20 among those in their 60s.
Combined, the three age groups accounted for 101 deaths, or 73.2 per cent of the total.
Those aged at least 80 represented 39.1 per cent across the full period and 47.1 per cent this year, when 16 of the 34 deaths involved people in that age group.
The mortality figures coincided with an unprecedented sequence of severe summer heat.
The Korea Meteorological Administration said the past three summers collectively ranked as the three hottest since nationwide records began in 1973.
This year’s average temperature between June and August was 25.4 degrees Celsius, 1.7 degrees above the 1991–2020 benchmark, placing it third behind 2025 at 25.7 degrees Celsius and 2024 at 25.6 degrees Celsius.
At opposite ends of this year’s age range, a 101-year-old woman who lived in Gangneung, Gangwon State, and a 28-year-old man in Busan both died of heatstroke.
The data showed that they had underlying cardiovascular conditions.
Seoul and Jeonbuk State each recorded six suspected heat-related deaths this year, more than any other region.
Busan, Incheon and South Gyeongsang Province each reported four.
No deaths were listed for Jeonnam-Gwangju, Daegu, Daejeon, Ulsan or Sejong.
Source: The Korea Herald
