"You Can Earn Up to 7 Million Won a Month": High Profits Fuel Surge of Undocumented Foreign Delivery Riders

Number of Illegal Foreign Riders Caught Quadruples in Three Years
Illegal Employment Routes Include Identity Theft and Lack of Insurance
Calls Grow for Stronger Identity Verification Amid Weak Penalties

Shin Dahyun (48), a delivery worker with six years of experience living in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, said, "These days, getting a delivery call is like picking a star from the sky." Although demand for deliveries remains steady, he lamented that there are simply too many "competitors on the road." He explained, "Three or four out of every ten riders are undocumented foreign workers," adding, "Koreans who pay insurance and work legally are being pushed out."

The rapidly growing domestic delivery market is emerging as a pathway for undocumented employment by foreign workers seeking high profits. There are increasing concerns that as the number of foreigners entering the delivery business without proper visas—often by using false identities—soars, this not only raises safety issues but also threatens the livelihoods of local delivery workers.

A motorcycle delivery person is making a delivery on Hongdae Street in Mapo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

According to the Ministry of Justice on March 5, the number of undocumented foreign workers caught working in the delivery and courier sectors increased more than fourfold in three years, from 117 cases in 2023 to 486 cases in 2025. Under current law, only those holding residence (F-2), permanent residency (F-5), or marriage migrant (F-6) visas are allowed to work in delivery. However, there continues to be a surge in cases where foreigners enter Korea on visas such as non-professional employment (E-9) or student (D-2) visas and work as "illegal riders."

Many in the delivery industry point out that these workers primarily use identity theft schemes. Delivery agencies secure multiple accounts under Korean nationals’ names and then rent them out to foreigners for a fixed monthly fee of around 200,000 to 300,000 won. While major platforms like Coupang Eats have adopted measures to outright block foreign workers from registering as riders, loopholes remain in the system. Even with a mobile phone registered to a foreigner, simply logging in with a Korean account and sharing the verification code is enough to bypass the platform's policies.

The overwhelming profitability is the reason foreign workers take the risk of working in the delivery business illegally. According to Chinese economic media outlet Yicai, as of 2023, the average monthly income of a delivery worker in China is about 6,803 yuan (1.3 million won), whereas Barogo, a domestic delivery agency platform, reports that full-time riders in Korea earn an average of 3,738,000 won per month. The top 20% of riders make between 5 million and 7 million won. This means they can earn three to five times more than in China. They also do not comply with the annual requirement to purchase delivery driver liability insurance, which costs around 2 million won per year.

As a result, videos describing the Korean delivery market as a "land of opportunity" are posted one after another on Chinese social networking services (SNS) such as Xiaohongshu. Promotional videos that claim, "Even if you don't speak Korean, you can earn 400,000 won a day with just a translator," encourage illegal employment. In communities on Facebook and other platforms where Southeast Asian students gather, there are numerous posts sharing tips on obtaining Korean names and bank accounts.

While measures such as enhanced identity verification using "facial recognition" have been proposed, delivery platform companies are reluctant due to concerns over increased costs and the potential loss of riders. A spokesperson from the Immigration and Foreign Policy Headquarters stated, "With a limited number of inspectors, it is impossible to catch every undocumented foreign rider in all parts of the city," emphasizing that both stronger platform-level identity verification to prevent identity theft and penalties for employers who hire illegally must be implemented together.

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