Number of Delivery Workers Doubled in 3 Years... 43% Experienced Traffic Accidents Within 6 Months

Food Delivery Workers Work an Average of 25.3 Days per Month
Average Monthly Earnings 3.81 Million Won
8 out of 10 Consumers Use Delivery Apps
Delivery Fees Perceived as Somewhat Expensive

On the 26th, as the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, a delivery worker is busy moving along Mugyo-ro in Seoul. Due to concerns about COVID-19 infection, the demand for food delivery services is rapidly increasing.
Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonoam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Min-young] The number of delivery workers engaged in the delivery industry has nearly doubled in three years. Eight out of ten consumers used delivery apps to order delivery, and the average delivery fee paid was found to be in the 2,000 to 3,000 KRW range. Although the use of delivery apps has explosively increased since COVID-19, it was found that 4 out of 10 delivery workers have experienced traffic accidents due to reckless driving to meet delivery times.

On the 27th, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced the results of a survey on the parcel delivery agency service business (hereinafter referred to as the delivery industry). This survey was the first conducted since the enactment of the Living Logistics Service Industry Development Act last year, covering the overall food delivery service, including delivery workers in the food service delivery sector, local delivery agency companies, delivery platform companies, working conditions of workers, and consumer service usage status.

Looking at the number of delivery workers in the delivery industry, it increased from 119,626 in the first half of 2019 to 237,188 in the first half of this year, nearly doubling. Regarding company status, 37 order brokerage platforms and 51 delivery agency platforms are operating, and there are 7,794 local delivery agency companies nationwide.

To hear the voices from the field about working conditions in the delivery industry, an interview survey was conducted with 1,200 delivery workers in six major cities. The survey showed that the safety and health education completion rate at the start of work was relatively high at 79%, but most (72.2%) completed it through online education.

Also, in the past six months, 4.3 out of 10 delivery workers reported having experienced traffic accidents. The main causes of accidents were answered in order as "reckless driving due to tight delivery times" (42.8%), "inexperience or carelessness of other drivers" (41.4%), and "reckless driving to increase the number of deliveries" (32.2%).

Delivery workers worked an average of about 25.3 days per month and earned approximately 3.81 million KRW. Among this, about 950,000 KRW was spent on insurance premiums, rental fees, and other expenses.

The average number of deliveries per day was 37.4 on weekdays and 42.3 on weekends, with average driving distances of 103 km on weekdays and 117 km on weekends.

Meanwhile, for improving working conditions, 43.8% answered that improving the delivery fee system was most necessary, followed by recognition of worker status (13.7%), reduction of power harassment (12.9%), and risk compensation (12.5%).

Most consumers (88%) used delivery apps to order delivery, with usage frequency highest at 3-5 times per month (42%), followed by 1-2 times (38%) and 6-10 times (15%). They mainly used the service during evening hours (17:00-20:00) (67%).

The delivery fee paid by consumers was mostly in the 2,000 KRW range (57%) and 3,000 KRW range (31%), and about 10% of the food price was recognized as an appropriate delivery fee.

Sixty-six percent of consumers preferred single-item delivery, and 50% hoped for delivery within 20 to 30 minutes.

Consumers were generally satisfied (54%) with speed, convenience, and variety of choices, but there were opinions that improvements were needed regarding high delivery fees.

Gu Heon-sang, Director of Logistics Policy at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, "Although there are some limitations in sample size and survey scale, this survey is meaningful as the first actual survey conducted by the Ministry on the delivery industry. Going forward, we will introduce more sophisticated survey methods, add survey items, and conduct advanced surveys annually to improve policy appropriateness and accuracy through precise market environment analysis."

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