[Friday Story] Can't Live Without Delivery... The Era of 200,000 Riders

#. On the evening of the 6th, office worker Kim Eun-hee (alias), who lives in Seoul, was surprised when she opened a delivery application (app) to order food as usual. A notice appeared stating that delivery would be difficult due to heavy snowfall. Kim, who had been working from home amid the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) and relying on delivery apps for meals, suddenly found herself stuck and worried about immediate hunger. With the severe cold continuing below minus 15 degrees Celsius until the weekend, the delivery delay situation is expected to persist, leaving Kim feeling helpless.

The disruption of delivery services caused by heavy snow and cold weather ironically demonstrates how significant the role of delivery drivers (riders) has become in our daily lives. As riders were grounded by the snow, the "delivery economy," which used to handle orders worth about 1.6 trillion won per month, came to a temporary halt, forcing many to worry again about their livelihoods. Through COVID-19, riders have become the capillaries that connect the platform economy and, further, sustain the lives of social members.

The number of riders working nationwide is estimated to be about 200,000. The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced last month that the broad category of platform workers providing labor through platforms is about 1.79 million. Approximately 220,000 people work through platforms that influence job assignments, and more than half of them are delivery drivers. Conservatively, there is a basis to believe that more than 100,000 riders, and according to the industry, about 200,000 riders, are working.

In particular, the number of riders increased significantly last year amid COVID-19, establishing the role as a legitimate new occupation. At Barogo, a delivery agency service provider, the number of riders who completed at least one delivery per month more than doubled from 13,200 in February last year to 28,000 in December. Professor Lee Byung-hoon of the Department of Sociology at Chung-Ang University explained, "Delivery services make up the largest portion of platform workers. Due to the impact of COVID-19, demand and the market have expanded, and many people whose income decreased in other fields have also entered this sector."

The scope of riders' activities is expanding from food delivery to essentials and clothing delivery. There is even a service where if you order clothes in the morning, a rider delivers them within half a day. The rider economy is broadening its domain from food (食) to clothing (衣).

As the scale has grown significantly, many challenges need to be addressed. The labor-management issues between riders, who are individual business operators, and operating companies are the first concern. Professor Lee said, "Among platform workers, the area where labor-management issues are most actively addressed is delivery riders," adding, "Voices of platform workers, centered on riders, are also being expressed overseas." In October last year, Woowa Brothers, which operates Baemin Riders, the delivery service of Baedal Minjok (Baemin), signed a collective agreement with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions Service Federation's General Service Labor Union, but it will take time for such coexistence efforts to spread to all riders.

There are also issues regarding delivery fees and dispatch standards. Dispatch standards, which are directly linked to riders' earnings, may conflict with platform companies' interests, and delivery fees, which are shared by restaurants and consumers, are intertwined with small business owners. Jung Mina, Policy Director at Korea Startup Forum, said, "Overall, the situation is difficult due to COVID-19, and among the burdens on small business owners, delivery fees are a significant part," adding, "We need to comprehensively examine the structure of how delivery fees are determined and how the burden is distributed."