No More 'Ppalli Ppalli Delivery'... Owners Also Punished for Legal Violations

On November 30th, a delivery courier was busy moving in front of a restaurant in Jongno-gu, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Eun-young] Amid the surge in demand for delivery food due to the impact of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the government has prepared a 'guideline' to prevent traffic accidents involving delivery couriers and will distribute it to related industries starting from the 28th.

On the 27th, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Ministry of Employment and Labor, and the National Police Agency announced that the 'Guideline for the Protection of Two-Wheeled Vehicle Food Delivery Workers' will be distributed to related industries starting from the 28th. This guideline specifies the legal compliance requirements and recommendations that business owners must follow to prevent traffic accidents involving delivery couriers.

First, business owners must verify whether couriers have a two-wheeled vehicle driving license and a safety helmet when registering on delivery apps. Additionally, the time required for couriers to perform their duties should not be restricted so tightly as to cause safety accidents.

Furthermore, if a courier is recognized as being exclusively affiliated with a specific company, the business owner must report the courier's employment and resignation and share the industrial accident compensation insurance premiums. The business owner must also supervise and ensure that couriers comply with road traffic laws, and if couriers violate these laws, both the couriers and the business owners will be subject to penalties.

Moreover, when couriers first register on delivery apps, the program should allow them to register whether they have completed safety training, and the completion status should be regularly checked. Regular safety and health education and worker health checkups must be conducted, and the provision, wearing instructions, and management of protective gear must be ensured.

Meanwhile, to prevent the spread of COVID-19, when customers make online prepayments through delivery apps, a 'contactless safe delivery' (tentative name) option will be introduced to configure the delivery app functions so that customers and couriers do not meet face-to-face.

For delivery work hours of 4 hours, a rest period of 30 minutes, and for 8 hours, at least 1 hour of rest will be ensured through notification messages.

The guideline was created to prevent the increase in two-wheeled vehicle accidents caused by the rapid growth of the delivery service market due to the spread of COVID-19. According to the government, between January and June of this year, the transaction amount for online food services surged by 75.2% compared to the same period last year, and the number of deaths from two-wheeled vehicle accidents increased by 13.7%.

Kim Bae-seong, Director of the Logistics Policy Division at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, stated, "Major delivery platform companies have a high understanding of safety-related laws such as the Industrial Safety and Health Act, but it has been found that many small and newly established delivery agencies and couriers do not. We request that each platform company distribute the guidelines to the numerous delivery agencies with which they have program usage contracts and strictly comply with the guidelines to protect couriers."

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