President Lee Jae Myung declared the heatwave a "national disaster" during a cabinet meeting on Monday, as Seoul issued its highest-level severe heatwave warning across the entire capital with temperatures forecast to approach 40C again.
The death toll has climbed to at least 16, with three fatalities reported Sunday and Monday, including two farmers aged about 60 and 80. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency reported 2,221 heat-related illness cases between May 15 and August 3. The Korean Baseball Organization cancelled matches in Seoul and Gwangju, while nearly half a million poultry and livestock and 200,000 farmed fish have perished nationwide.
The escalation follows Sunday's record 42.5C reading in Yangsan, the highest in 122 years of observations.