Baemin Provides 5,000 Rider Heated Vests for Free... "Thank You, Bongjin Hyung"

Support for Rider Health Checkup Costs Starting This Year

Riders performing deliveries for Baemin Riders and B Mart services are wearing heated vests and holding the auxiliary batteries provided together for temperature control of the vests.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] Woowa Brothers, the operator of Baedal Minjok (Baemin), announced on the 29th that they have provided winter gear worth over 200 million KRW, including heated vests, for riders working outdoors during the severe cold season.

Woowa Brothers is currently distributing 5,000 heated vests free of charge to contracted riders performing delivery tasks for Baemin Riders and B Mart, as well as Baemin Connectors and B Mart employees.

This provision of heated vests was prepared to prevent hypothermia and injuries among riders and connectors delivering in heavy snow and cold waves. It takes into account the nature of delivery work, where exposure to cold is prolonged and the perceived temperature can drop significantly due to headwinds. The distributed heated vests are high-performance products that allow wearers to select the heating level themselves. They are compact and lightweight, made from special materials that provide excellent insulation. Baemin also purchased and distributed temperature control batteries for the vests, which are sold separately.

The recipients are all riders and connectors who have completed more than 10 deliveries since the 1st of last month. Woowa Brothers distributed a total of 3,000 vests at the Baemin Riders Southern and Western Centers in Seoul and plans to provide 500 vests through the Korea Confederation of Trade Unions Service Federation, the representative negotiating union. The remaining 1,500 vests will be given to B Mart logistics center workers. On the morning of the 27th, the day after the first distribution of heated vests, when the minimum temperature dropped below freezing, numerous testimonials and thank-you messages appeared on online communities, blogs, and SNS where riders and connectors gather.

In addition to winter gear, Woowa Brothers has implemented policies for the health and safety of riders. These include rider safety education to prevent accidents, financial support for living expenses and insurance premiums for riders diagnosed with COVID-19, and a 2 billion KRW 'Woowa Rider Care Fund' to cover medical and living expenses in case of accidents. Starting this year, they will also partially support health checkup costs for contracted riders and plan to develop a Baemin Rider-exclusive health checkup platform that offers discounted examination fees.

Kwon Yong-gyu, Head of Value Management at Woowa Brothers, said, "Riders and connectors must be able to work safely and warmly so that Baedal Minjok customers and partner merchants can use the app with peace of mind, and the delivery ecosystem can remain healthy. We will continue to create various support measures to enable riders and connectors to work in better environments."

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