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🇰🇷 South Korea /Disasters & Emergencies

Thai migrant worker dies of heatstroke in South Korea, six days after arrival

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • A 37-year-old Thai migrant worker died from heatstroke on July 25 in Haenam, South Korea, just six days after arriving in the country.
  • He collapsed while spreading fertilizer in a cabbage field under extreme heat, with ground temperatures exceeding 50 degrees Celsius.
  • His death highlights the vulnerability of migrant workers to heat-related illnesses, as official statistics often exclude them.

A 37-year-old Thai migrant worker, identified by the pseudonym Nakhon Saensawat, died from heatstroke in Haenam, South Korea, on July 25, only six days after his arrival. He collapsed while working in a cabbage field, spreading fertilizer under scorching conditions where the ground temperature reached over 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit).

Paramedics found Nakhon unresponsive, with his body too hot to measure a temperature, indicating severe heatstroke. He had arrived in South Korea on a tourist visa on July 20 and began working in fields shortly after. On July 23, a heatwave warning was issued for the area. He was reportedly paid 110,000 won (approximately $80) for a day's work from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., with no shade available in the vast fields.

There are people who are unconditionally exposed to heat. Migrant workers are a prime example. Their social and economic status is far more important than their individual physical condition or heat tolerance in determining whether they die from heatstroke.

— Namgung In, Professor of Emergency Medicine at Ewha Womans University Mokdong HospitalA medical expert explains how socioeconomic factors, particularly for migrant workers, play a critical role in heatstroke fatalities.

Nakhon's death is not included in South Korea's official heat-related illness statistics, which rely on voluntary reports from emergency rooms and primarily track citizens. At least four migrant workers are reported to have died from heat exposure this year. The victim was staying in a dilapidated two-room house lacking basic amenities like fans or air conditioning, with only a 2-liter bottle of water as sustenance.

Authorities stated that Nakhon was not a seasonal worker managed by the county office and therefore not eligible for support or compensation. However, they acknowledged the need to review management systems for all foreign visitors. Medical experts suggest that his living conditions, combined with working in extreme heat, likely contributed to his death. Police are awaiting autopsy results but suspect heatstroke due to his high body temperature at the time of collapse.

Considering that the rectal temperature was as high as over 43 degrees Celsius, it is presumed to be a heat-related illness.

— Haenam Police Station officialA police official indicates that preliminary findings suggest heatstroke as the cause of death.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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