'Strike and Lunar New Year Holiday' Parcel Delivery Emergency... Government Deploys Over 10,000 Additional Workers

The government will deploy approximately 10,000 additional personnel to delivery sites for one month to prepare for the surge in parcel delivery volume during the Seol holiday.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 9th that it plans to designate the four weeks from the 17th of this month to the 12th of next month as a special management period ahead of the Seol holiday peak season.

This special management period was established to minimize damage to small business owners and consumers who primarily use parcel services and to prevent overwork among delivery workers, amid the ongoing strike by CJ Logistics' parcel delivery union, which holds about 50% market share, lasting more than ten days.

First, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will deploy about 10,000 additional personnel considering the surge in volume. According to the social agreement to prevent overwork of delivery workers signed on June 22 last year, about 3,000 sorting-dedicated personnel will be additionally deployed starting this month, and in addition, approximately 7,000 temporary personnel including 1,474 hub terminal assistants, 1,088 sub-terminal loading and unloading workers, 1,903 trunk vehicle operators, 1,137 accompanying personnel, and 1,320 delivery drivers will be deployed on site.

The right of delivery workers to rest during the holiday period will also be guaranteed. Since major parcel service providers restrict collection 2 to 3 days before the holiday, most delivery drivers are expected to be guaranteed at least four days of rest during this year’s Seol holiday.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has recommended the industry not to hold delivery drivers responsible for any delays caused by the surge in volume, and plans to encourage advance orders at government offices and others with high demand for holiday seasonal products to distribute the volume.

Officials from the National Courier Workers' Union are holding a final hunger strike declaration and the 4th general strike resolution rally on the 6th in front of the CJ Group headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, demanding fair distribution of the increased courier fees and recognition of the union. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

The government plans to inspect whether these measures are properly followed in the field.

Especially with the full implementation of the social agreement excluding sorting from delivery drivers’ work scope starting this January, the government will conduct unannounced inspections nationwide from this week through a joint investigation team involving private experts, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Ministry of Employment and Labor, and the Fair Trade Commission.

If violations of the social agreement are found, immediate corrective actions will be demanded on site, and if the violations are serious, the investigation results may be publicly disclosed.

Eom Myung-so, Director of the Transportation and Logistics Office at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, "Just by placing orders in advance during this Seol holiday period, we can prevent overwork of delivery drivers and minimize delivery delay damages," and added, "we ask for your warm understanding even if some deliveries are delayed."

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