Government Support for Workplace Improvement Projects Including Shelter for Platform Workers

Ministry of Labor Recruiting Organizations to Participate in Workplace Improvement Support Project

The 2024 Tripartite New Year's Meeting was held on the afternoon of the 5th at the Seoul Central Post Office. Guests, including Lee Jeong-sik, Minister of Employment and Labor, are applauding the well-wishes from the attendees. From the left: Park Jeong, Chair of the Environment and Labor Committee; Kim Dong-myeong, Chair of the Korean Federation of Trade Unions; Minister Lee; Sohn Kyung-shik, Chair of the Korea Employers Federation; Kim Moon-soo, Chair of the Economic, Social and Labor Council. Photo by Heo Young-han younghan@

The government will support workplace improvement projects by local governments and companies to enable platform workers such as delivery riders and substitute drivers to work in safer environments.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced on the 7th that it will recruit new participating organizations for this year's platform worker workplace improvement support project targeting local governments and platform companies until the 26th.

This project, implemented since 2022 to improve the working conditions of the increasing number of platform workers, provides government support covering up to 50% of costs (with a limit of 300 million KRW) to local governments or companies that promote customized workplace improvement projects such as installing rest areas and providing safety equipment.

The support period is one year for local governments and two years for platform companies, with an evaluation of performance after the period to decide on a one-year extension. Last year, the Ministry of Labor explained that 15 local governments including Jeonju-si, Jeollabuk-do, and 9 companies such as Kakao Mobility, Coupang Eats, and the Korea Substitute Driving Cooperative were supported, benefiting 94,388 platform workers.

Jeonju-si, Jeollabuk-do, which participated in last year's project, installed simple rest areas for mobile workers and provided support for health, traffic safety, and labor consultations, while the Korea Substitute Driving Cooperative operated mobile rest areas for substitute drivers during late-night hours.

This year, the Ministry of Labor stated that it plans to prioritize selection of projects that support various counseling services such as legal, tax, and psychological consultations to resolve difficulties platform workers face in daily life, as well as rest area installation and operation projects that require long-term cost investment.