15 Courier Workers Dead from Overwork, Growing Calls for Better Labor Conditions..."Serious Long Working Hours"

Delivery workers are sorting packages at the Hanjin Delivery Mapo Terminal in Mapo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghoon Jeong] As delivery workers continue to die one after another, calls are growing to improve working conditions such as long working hours.

The Delivery Workers Overwork Death Countermeasures Committee announced on the 29th of last month, "On the 27th, Kim, a trunk line driver for Hanjin Delivery, was found collapsed inside his vehicle but ultimately passed away."

According to the police, Kim was found collapsed at around 11:24 PM on the 27th at the Hanjin Delivery Daejeon Terminal in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, and died while being transported to a nearby hospital. This brings the total number of delivery workers who have died from overwork this year to 15.

The committee stated, "Following the news of the death of a delivery worker who delivers goods to customers, deaths continue among sorting workers who work in logistics warehouses, transportation workers who drove all night between hub terminals and sub-terminals, and others working in the delivery industry," adding, "This is a tragedy caused by the chronic long working hours in the delivery industry."

On the same day, Choi Young-ae, Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission, issued a statement titled 'Statement by the Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission on the Death of Delivery Workers,' pointing out, "The preference for non-face-to-face services has explosively increased delivery demand, and delivery workers are required to work continuous long hours."

Chairperson Choi said, "According to a recent survey conducted by the 'Corporation for Work and Health,' delivery workers work six days a week, averaging 71.3 hours per week, and more than 12 hours per day," adding, "The International Labour Organization (ILO) adopted the 'Convention limiting working hours to 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week' as its first convention."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.