'Delivery Boom' Amid Prolonged COVID-19... Era of 400,000 Delivery Workers

Yang Kyung-sook, Democratic Party Lawmaker: "Government Must Prepare Measures for Changes in Occupational Environment"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Son Seon-hee] It has been revealed that the number of delivery workers in South Korea nearly reached 400,000 last year. This is attributed to the sharp increase in delivery demand due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

According to data received from Statistics Korea by Yang Kyung-sook, a member of the National Assembly's Planning and Finance Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, the number of employed delivery workers in the second half of last year was approximately 390,000, marking the highest figure since the survey began in 2013. Compared to the second half of 2019, just before the COVID-19 outbreak (349,000), the number increased by 11.8% in just one year. Delivery workers include postal carriers, courier workers, food delivery workers, and other delivery workers (such as beverage and newspaper delivery).

The number of delivery workers had been on the rise even before but appears to have surged significantly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is because delivery demand increased as a result of social distancing measures. According to the online shopping trends announced by Statistics Korea, the transaction amount for food delivery services ordered online last year was 17.4 trillion KRW, nearly an 80% increase compared to the previous year. The total parcel volume handled by 18 courier companies last year was 3,378,189,000 parcels, a 21% increase from 2019.

Despite the rapid increase in the number of delivery workers, there are criticisms that improvements in labor conditions, such as industrial accident risks and overwork, are slow. Representative Yang said, "With the post-COVID era bringing changes in industrial and occupational structures, jobs related to non-face-to-face industries are rapidly increasing," adding, "The government must prepare measures to ensure that these changes in job environments do not lead to increased burdens on economically vulnerable groups."

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