South Korea's Lee on Tuesday urged authorities to bolster support for people hit by a record heatwave, saying the death toll has risen to 16 and extreme weather events are becoming more frequent. He told a cabinet meeting officials must take necessary steps to protect daily life and inspect the power system amid surging air‑conditioning demand, adding that as this extreme weather becomes the norm, the national crisis response system requires fundamental reform. The Korea Meteorological Administr

South Korea's Lee on Tuesday urged authorities to bolster support for people hit by a record heatwave, saying the death toll has risen to 16 and extreme weather events are becoming more frequent. He told a cabinet meeting officials must take necessary steps to protect daily life and inspect the power system amid surging air‑conditioning demand, adding that as this extreme weather becomes the norm, the national crisis response system requires fundamental reform. The Korea Meteorological Administration said Yangsan in the southeast recorded 42.5C on Sunday, the highest in South Korea's 122 years of observations. The KMA on Monday issued heat warnings for parts of Seoul and Gyeonggi Province and expanded the warning to all of Seoul on Tuesday.