![Koo Kyo Hoon, Head of Korea International Logistics Association [Photo=Ajou Economy DB]](https://image.ajunews.com/content/image/2025/12/15/20251215102734170305.jpg)
SEOUL, December 16 (AJP) - South Korea’s lightning-fast delivery services, including overnight and same-day options, have become a defining feature of its retail industry and a source of national pride.
For consumers, the appeal is clear: fresh groceries and online purchases arriving at the doorstep by morning. Yet behind this convenience lies a less visible cost, borne by delivery workers who endure punishing night shifts and unsafe working conditions.
To sustain overnight delivery, workers spend the night sorting, inspecting and packing goods at logistics centers. Drivers then take to the roads while most of the country sleeps, navigating fatigue and heightened accident risks. Medical experts warn that prolonged night work disrupts circadian rhythms, increasing the likelihood of chronic illness and workplace accidents.
In 2021, delivery companies, labor unions, the government and consumer groups reached an agreement aimed at curbing excessive night work and removing sorting duties from drivers’ responsibilities. Four years on, however, the reality on the ground has barely changed. Many drivers continue to work close to 70 hours a week, often without the ability to rest even when sick.
The human cost of this system was underscored on Dec. 10, when a delivery driver in his 30s died in an accident after completing an overnight delivery on the southern island of Jeju. Subsequent investigations found that he worked six days a week for an average of 11.5 hours a day, clocking more than 83 hours a week when night premiums were included. He reportedly even worked on his scheduled day off using another person’s identification.
This was not simply a matter of individual choice. It reflects a structural problem in an industry where long hours are effectively required to earn a livable income. Recognizing delivery drivers as workers, rather than independent contractors in name only, must mean enforcing limits on working hours and strengthening safety protections.
Some companies point to annual earnings of up to 69 million won ($50,000) as evidence that drivers are well compensated. Yet after accounting for vehicle maintenance, fuel and other expenses, take-home income often falls below 40 million won, less than that of many office workers, despite far harsher conditions. Inadequate heating and cooling at logistics centers further expose workers to extreme temperatures throughout the year.
Delivery services have become an essential part of daily life in South Korea, functioning in practice as a public utility. Yet meaningful political and regulatory attention tends to follow only after fatal incidents. The convenience enjoyed by consumers should not come at the expense of workers’ health and lives.
As the world’s 12th-largest economy, South Korea can afford to place safety and sustainability ahead of sheer speed. The new government and the National Assembly must confront the risks inherent in night deliveries and move beyond symbolic agreements to implement enforceable legal and systemic reforms.
A society that requires delivery workers to prove their worth through exhaustion and sacrifice is neither just nor sustainable.
* This article, published by Aju Business Daily, was translated by AI and edited by AJP.
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