Heat-related ER visits rise sharply as Korea braces for hotter summer

South Korea has already seen 300 people visit emergency rooms for heat-related illnesses this summer, a sharp increase from the same period last year, as weather authorities project hotter-than-usual conditions in the months ahead.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said Thursday that it had recorded 300 heat-related illness patients as of Tuesday through its monitoring system covering 516 emergency rooms nationwide.

The figure is up from 192 during the same period in 2025.

On Tuesd ...