Heatwave conditions once seen only in foreign news reports have now become our reality," Lee told a heatwave response meeting at the Government Complex Seoul. Thursday's forecast high for Seoul would bring the capital close to its record of 39.6 degrees Celsius, set in August 2018. The KMA said there is a 60% likelihood that temperatures across the country will remain above average in the near term. South Korea's heat-related illness total reached 2,441 cases as of Thursday, according to health authorities, with 21 suspected heat-related deaths recorded in provisional figures covering May 15 through Aug. 4, up from 19 a day earlier. Continued monitoring of Lee's promised disaster-system redesign, drought conditions accompanying the heat, and comparisons to South Korea's historically severe 2018 and 2024 heatwaves is expected to remain a relevant thread through the remainder of the summer.