Continued Off-Site Disputes After Union Formation
Recently Escalated to Legal Battles
Challenges Faced by Rapidly Growing Coupang
South Korea's leading e-commerce company Coupang has been engaged in ongoing off-site disputes with its labor union. The union claims that illegal activities such as unfair dismissals and workplace harassment occur frequently at Coupang, and that the working environment is so poor it even encourages death from overwork. On the other hand, Coupang counters these claims as completely false illegal provocations. Currently, the conflict between labor and management has escalated into legal battles. Some say this is a "challenge faced by Coupang, which has grown into a 'distribution giant' in the e-commerce era."
Why Did the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions Target Coupang?
The labor union at Coupang was established in June 2021. On the 7th of that month, the Public Transport Workers' Union under the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) held a press conference in front of Coupang's headquarters in Songpa-gu, Seoul, announcing its formation. At the time, the union stated its purpose as "to create a healthy and safe workplace where workers' human rights are respected even if they work just one day, and where workers do not die while working."
While the union's founding rationale was summarized as improving treatment and working conditions, industry perspectives differed. There was talk that "the KCTU shifted its base to a place where it was easy to expand its influence due to the rapid increase in the number of employees." Indeed, Coupang's workforce grew rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic. From 25,307 employees at the end of 2019, just before the pandemic, the number nearly doubled to 49,915 the following year, and then increased to 65,772 in 2021.
To meet the surge in delivery demand during the COVID-19 period, Coupang significantly increased the number of Quickflex (contract delivery workers) couriers. Quickflex couriers are special-type workers with characteristics of both employees and contractors, and anyone who has delivered under Coupang's name even once was eligible to join the union. An industry insider said, "Other companies only allowed full-time employees to join the union, but Coupang did not. This lowered the entry barrier, and the KCTU seems to have chosen Coupang as a base to expand its influence by focusing on this aspect."
However, the prevailing view is that the KCTU's strategy has effectively failed after more than two years since its establishment. According to Coupang, as of this month, the estimated number of union members is about 100. Considering that Coupang's logistics center employees have remained around 40,000 since the transition to endemic, the union membership rate is less than 0.5%. Another industry insider said, "The number of union members is a key indicator of union activity success, and the current figure is close to humiliating."
Claims of ‘Workplace Harassment’ and ‘Unfair Dismissal’ Rejected
Since its establishment, the union has raised issues such as workplace harassment and unfair dismissal, clashing with management. However, as government agencies including courts have ruled against these claims, the union is losing its founding justification.
A representative case is the 2021 incident involving a former union official, Mr. A, who claimed workplace harassment by a superior and demanded compensation and leave from Coupang. At the time, Mr. A, who was promoting union establishment within Coupang, reported to the Labor Office that he was threatened by a field manager regarding joining the union's online community. The claim was that the field manager, Mr. B, saying "Why are you causing trouble for other workers? Please set an example," constituted workplace harassment suppressing union activities. The Labor Office accepted Mr. A's claim, but the court's judgment differed. On the 19th of last month, the Seoul Administrative Court's Administrative Division 13 (Presiding Judge Park Jeong-dae) ruled in favor of Mr. B in a lawsuit against the Central Labor Relations Commission under the Ministry of Employment and Labor, stating "this is not workplace harassment."
Another case involved union officials including Mr. C, who last year filed a complaint with the Labor Office claiming unfair dismissal due to union activities. This was dismissed this year. The Labor Office judged that "the employment contract period expired legitimately, so there was no unfair labor practice by management." Instead, the union was previously booked by investigative authorities on charges including obstruction of business for unauthorized entry into Coupang's headquarters lobby. It is known that the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office is currently weighing whether to indict in this case.
Endless Noise... Assaults and Political Struggle Controversies
This year, the union targeted Coupang's logistics and delivery subsidiary, Coupang Logistics Service (CLS), demanding improvements in working conditions through various rallies. Physical clashes during this process have also contributed to narrowing the union's influence. A representative incident was the assault on several CLS employees following the establishment of the 'Coupang Delivery Branch' under the Delivery Workers' Union in April. Three current and former union members who used physical force are currently under investigation by the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office on assault charges. The police, who initially investigated the case, reportedly considered requesting arrest warrants, indicating the seriousness of the matter.
The controversy over 'political struggle' is also cited as a factor hindering the union. Among the union members who assaulted CLS employees, it is known that they publicly urged delivery workers to join the Progressive Party. Coupang has identified that this union member made statements at major rallies and press conferences such as "You must join the Progressive Party," "If more lawmakers like Kang Seong-hee of the Progressive Party are elected, everything will be devastated," and "Let's win together in next year's general election."
The union held multiple press conferences repeatedly claiming death from overwork regarding a delivery worker in his 60s who died last month at a delivery site. However, the National Forensic Service (NFS), which conducted an autopsy on the deceased delivery worker, verbally concluded that the cause of death was "presumed to be 'cardiac hypertrophy' due to chronic underlying diseases." Some in the industry recall the past when the KCTU Delivery Workers' Union occupied CJ Logistics headquarters. At that time, the union also pointed to death from overwork as the cause of a delivery worker's death, and it appears that the 'death from overwork' agenda target has shifted from CJ Logistics to Coupang.
The union launched a general strike in August demanding rest breaks during the heatwave. However, only three members participated. An industry insider said, "Even a small number of union members going on strike causes significant inconvenience to consumers, as last year's CJ Logistics Delivery Workers' Union strike showed," adding, "This is why Coupang, which offers services like Rocket Delivery, should not become a sacrificial pawn in the union's strategy to expand its influence."
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