'32-Person Chain Infection' Inside Gwangju Gwangsan-gu Logistics Center

140-150 Employees All in Self-Quarantine... Logistics Center 'Empty'

"Hard to Find Replacement Workers" Will a Delivery Crisis Hit Before Chuseok?

Interior view of a courier logistics center located in Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City. Photo by Jin-Hyung Park bless4ya@

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] On the 6th, at a courier logistics center located in Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City. The 6,697㎡ (2,026 pyeong) facility was so silent that not even an ant could be seen.

This was due to the spread of 'n-th infection' mainly among coworkers after the first confirmed case occurred at the center last month. The 140 to 150 employees who usually came to work are now all under self-quarantine.

Completed in September 2016, this logistics center is a hub terminal that handles 200,000 boxes a day, making it a very busy place. In the Honam region, a total of 46 branches and 828 offices are in operation.

However, on this day, only three employees working in an office tucked away in a corner of the logistics center and one official in a white protective suit disinfecting the area were guarding the wide space.

It hardly looked like a logistics center preparing for the Chuseok holiday.

A center official said, "Operations have stopped for three days as of today. This is like a mourning house; I am not in a position to give an interview," and hurriedly left.

Like seeing a house abandoned by refugees during wartime, gloves, PET bottles, Styrofoam boxes, and other trash were scattered on the floor, and dust covered various machines.

The conveyor belt, which should be buzzing busily, was completely stopped. On top of it, dozens of undelivered courier boxes piled up like a mountain.

In the cargo compartment of a truck parked at unloading B01 line, loads that had not been unloaded were tightly packed. On the opposite unloading A line parking lot, eight trucks were parked, but their cargo compartments were empty. It clearly felt like they had been left idle for an unknown period.

Looking at two boxes of peaches wrapped as holiday gift sets laid on the floor near the sorting area, one even worried, "They will be delivered before they rot."

A small courier package sent from Gangwon-do to Busan also caught the eye. I asked an employee, "When will delivery start again?"

The official replied, "There is no one to work," and added, "How about you, reporter, working for 300,000 won a day?"

He said, "It is not easy to find replacement workers. Normal operations before the holiday are expected to be difficult," and expressed concern, "There is also a possibility of a courier crisis."

Meanwhile, after employee number 2591 from Jeonnam (a foreigner) working at the logistics center was confirmed positive on the 31st of last month, transmission has occurred through coworkers and acquaintances. Including numbers 4270, 4274, 4284, as of midnight on the 7th of this month, the cumulative number of confirmed cases is 32.

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