Courier Union: "The Death of Coupang Delivery Workers Is a Clear Case of Overwork... Measures Must Be Taken"

Coupang "Cooperates with Death Cause Verification Process" Denies Overwork Claims

The Committee for Measures Against Overwork Deaths of Delivery Workers is holding a press conference in front of Coupang headquarters in Songpa-gu, Seoul on the afternoon of the 8th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] The delivery workers' union demanded the establishment of measures to prevent recurrence and an apology to the bereaved family regarding the death of a delivery worker who was responsible for late-night duties at Coupang.

The Delivery Workers Overwork Death Countermeasures Committee held a press conference on the 8th in front of Coupang headquarters in Songpa-gu, Seoul, stating, "On the 6th, Mr. Lee (48), who was doing late-night and early morning deliveries at Coupang Songpa 1 Camp, was found dead due to overwork," and added, "Mr. Lee had no known underlying health conditions, and this is a clear case of overwork death without any doubt."

Earlier, the police responded to a report from Mr. Lee’s spouse around 3 p.m. on the 6th, who said they could not contact him, and found him at a goshiwon (small lodging) in Songpa-gu. It is known that Mr. Lee moved to Seoul to earn money, lived alone in the goshiwon, and frequently expressed to his spouse the difficulties of late-night work.

The committee also stated, "The deceased joined Coupang as a contract worker early last year and has been exclusively responsible for late-night and early morning deliveries until now," and "It was revealed that he worked 10 hours daily (including 1 hour of unpaid break) from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m., five days a week."

They continued, "The deceased was currently working as a non-regular contract worker and was confirmed to have received about 2.8 million KRW per month," emphasizing, "Considering a 30% increase in working hours and a 50% wage premium for night work, he was paid at the minimum wage level, which is a serious labor exploitation given the high-intensity late-night delivery work."

Furthermore, the committee said, "We will fight alongside the bereaved family until Coupang issues an official apology, compensates the family, and establishes measures to prevent recurrence," and added, "We will condemn this together with the public who mourn the death of delivery workers until Coupang takes full responsibility."

The committee also demanded that the government designate Coupang as a workplace with frequent serious accidents and conduct a special labor inspection, initiate legal procedures against Coupang’s CEO, and form a fact-finding committee involving civil society, the government, and the National Assembly.

Meanwhile, Coupang released a statement on the same day expressing "deep condolences and sympathy" and said, "We will actively cooperate with the process of confirming the cause of death."

However, Coupang denied the claim that overwork was the cause of death. Coupang explained, "The deceased had not been working for seven days due to vacation and days off after his last shift on February 24 and was scheduled to return on the 4th."

They added, "In the past 12 weeks, the deceased worked an average of about four days per week, with approximately 40 hours of work," and stated, "This is significantly lower than the average of six days and 71 hours per week reported in the delivery industry survey released last year by the Delivery Workers Overwork Death Countermeasures Committee, and also lower than the 60 hours per week recommended by the social consensus body for countermeasures against delivery workers’ overwork deaths."