[Those Fighting the Cold Wave] "Due to Address Search and Delivery Confirmation, Even Gloves Are a Luxury" Frozen Courier Workers

"Must Go to Work Even If Injured Due to Increased Volume"
"Poor Facilities at Outdoor Sorting Site"

At 6:20 a.m. on the 9th, Go Young-min (45), a delivery driver for a dawn delivery company, is carrying delivery items with bare hands. (Photo by Park Joon-yi)

[Asia Economy Reporters Byeongseon Gong and Juni Park] At 4 a.m. on the 9th, Go Youngmin (45), a delivery driver for a fresh food dawn delivery company, was met in front of an apartment in Gangdong-gu, Seoul. Despite the minus 19-degree weather, he was carrying boxes with bare hands. Go said, "Because I have to use my phone to find addresses and confirm deliveries, I don't wear gloves and go completely barehanded."

Even amid the cold wave that hit after 35 years, delivery drivers were braving the freezing dawn. After heavy snowfall in the metropolitan area on the 6th, many roads in Seoul were like ice-covered paths. With the brutal cold continuing, the working conditions for dawn and morning shift delivery drivers working outdoors worsened.

From 3 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. that day, Go visited 34 delivery locations around Gangdong-gu, and his hands were red and stiff. Feeling warmth inside the heated car was only momentary, as he frequently got out to carry delivery items. The heavy snowfall three days earlier was also a major hardship for delivery drivers. Since drivers are paid based on the number of deliveries, delays directly affect their livelihood.

Go said, "A delivery that should have taken 4 hours took 5 hours, and I couldn't even finish half of it," adding, "In the end, some of the load had to be handed over to the morning shift." The icy roads caused by snow and cold waves pose threats beyond livelihood, even endangering lives. He said, "At dawn, visibility is poor, and when it snows, the roads become slippery, making it hard for cars to move," adding, "There are frequent driving accidents among colleagues during winter."

At 9 a.m. on the 19th, at the Gangmae Logistics Center in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi Province. Due to poor electrical facilities, delivery drivers hurriedly warmed their hands whenever a heater was brought in.

General delivery drivers who start work after 7 a.m. were also battling the cold wave. The sorting worksite at the Gangmae Logistics Center in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, was visibly inadequate to block the cold. It was outdoors with only a ceiling and no walls, allowing cold wind to blow in directly. Due to insufficient electrical infrastructure, it was difficult to even turn on heaters.

What made the sorting worksite delivery drivers' work even harder during the cold wave was the excessive volume of goods. Although deliveries were supposed to start between 10 and 11 a.m. that day, many goods and icy roads delayed the trunk trucks collecting items from the hub logistics center until 12:30 p.m.

Due to unstable working conditions, some came to work despite physical discomfort. Hong (60) suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon during work but came with a cast. Although a replacement worker was found, the workload was too heavy to process all the goods. The fear of losing their delivery area if they failed to handle all the volume drove him to the workplace. Hong said, "Even if the volume is reduced, I have to come out and work first."

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