Widespread Victimization of Young People by Forced Purchase of Delivery Vehicles... "Operation of Delivery Driver Recruitment-Only Platform"

Forced High-Interest Sales of Delivery Trucks Involving Capital Firms
"Warning Pop-up on Related Job Postings... Public-Private Cooperation"

#. Earlier this year, Shin Mo (23), who applied for a courier driver job after seeing a posting on Alba Cheonguk promising a monthly income of 5 million won, ended up burdened with a debt of about 28 million won before even starting work. He easily passed the interview, meeting the preferred qualifications of holding a Class 1 large vehicle license and a freight transport certificate. The problem was that the agency posting the job said he had to buy a delivery vehicle to work, and he was made to take out a loan from a capital company under his name to purchase a used Porter truck. The price quoted by the agency was 21.8 million won, but the market price he later found out was 13 million won. Shin learned that this was false advertising and fraud and requested to cancel the contract, but instead was told to pay an additional penalty of 6 million won. Feeling wronged, he even received a certified letter.

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong is giving an opening speech at the "Meeting to Eradicate Forced Sales Fraud of Delivery Vehicles" held on the 14th at the Korea Integrated Logistics Center in Jongno-gu, Seoul. / Photo by Noh Kyung-jo

Scams forcing young people to buy used delivery vehicles under the pretense of hiring courier drivers are rampant. On major job platforms such as Alba Cheonguk and Albamon, phrases like "Employment at famous courier companies" and "Guaranteed high income over 5 million won per month" are easily found.

On the 14th, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, logistics industry representatives, and platform officials held a "Meeting to Eradicate Delivery Vehicle Forced Sales Scams" at the Korea Integrated Logistics Center in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

The young people present expressed frustration that they are struggling to repay monthly installments rather than earning income. It was argued that since it is difficult to determine whether a company is fraudulent just by the job posting, platforms should play a filtering role.

Lee Seung-won, CEO of Annyeong Cheotcha, who helps victims of forced delivery vehicle sales, said, "Companies posting false advertisements on Albamon and others are essentially running a Ponzi scheme. Leasing freight vehicles is illegal, but they make money by having job seekers work while collecting fees to cover payments to the registered owners." He added, "As the scam method became more known, there are even cases of forcing the purchase of a 14 million won cleaning vehicle for 32 million won." He also said that despite multiple reports of false advertisements to platforms, nothing has changed.

Platform companies emphasized that only those with freight vehicle transport business permits and brokerage business permits are allowed to post courier-related job ads. They said it is as difficult for them as for job seekers to identify fraudulent companies in advance. With an average of 170,000 postings per month, it is practically difficult to verify all businesses.

Lee Young-geol, Executive Director of Albamon, said, "These companies prepare documents and commit fraud with a purpose. It is a structure where we only find out when reports come in." He added, "We will display caution alerts on related postings."

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans to launch a dedicated job platform for courier drivers after July. If a posting requires buying a delivery vehicle or requests capital or credit checks, a popup warning about the risk of fraud will be displayed.

In cooperation with the Integrated Logistics Association, the ministry will also operate a "Delivery Vehicle Scam Prevention and Damage Reporting Center" within the Logistics Reporting Center. Ji Dong-seon, head of the Ministry’s Living Logistics Policy Team, explained, "If suspected of fraud, reports can be made to the center to verify whether the company is legitimate before proceeding with contracts." He added, "If damage occurs, the center will provide legal advice and counseling services."

Additionally, discussions with financial authorities will be held regarding issues related to capital company connections when purchasing freight vehicles. Measures such as lowering loan limits to prevent fraud are expected to be discussed. However, it will be taken into account that courier drivers need freight vehicles and some require installment plans.

Won Hee-ryong, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, stated, "Forced sales scams of delivery vehicles are malicious livelihood crimes that trap young workers trying to work diligently into a debt abyss and must be eradicated." He urged, "Public and private sectors should cooperate and concentrate their capabilities."

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