As the death toll from the heat wave reached record a high in 2018, a national response is needed for the safety of workers threatened by meteorological disasters such as heat or cold waves.

Therefore, the purpose of this amendment is that if the Minister of Employment and Labor determines that it is likely to harm the lives and safety of workers who are directly exposed to heat or cold during heat or cold waves, he/she may order business owners, who are involved with the construction work, to suspend the work; that if they fail to comply with the order, the business owners shall be subject to an administrative fine of up to 50 million won; and that the daily employed construction workers may be compensated for all or part of their wages lost due to the suspension of work.

This amendment also aims to protect the lives and safety of the workers working in heat or cold waves by requiring business owners who use workers for work directly exposed to heat or cold waves to provide the workers with special education on safety and health in relation to their work as prescribed by an Ordinance of the Ministry of Employment and Labor (Articles 26 and 31).

If the Minister of Employment and Labor determines that it is likely to harm the lives and safety of workers who are directly exposed to heat or cold due to heat or cold waves, he/she may order business owners, who are involved with the construction work, to suspend the work, and if the business owners fail to comply with the order, they shall be subject to an administrative fine of up to 50 million won (Article 26 (6) and Article 72).