November 3 Live Debate on CBS Radio "One Match"
Labor Hours vs. Consumer Convenience Controversy
Two former politicians representing progressive and conservative viewpoints will engage in a public debate over the issue of banning early morning delivery services.
Han Donghoon, former leader of the People Power Party, and Jang Hyeyoung, former lawmaker of the Justice Party, are confirmed to face off in a live debate on the CBS Radio program "Park Jaehong's One Match" at 6:20 PM on November 3.
Former People Power Party leader Han Donghoon and former Justice Party lawmaker Jang Hyeyoung are confirmed to have a live debate on the CBS Radio program "Park Jaehong's One Round Match" at 6:20 PM on the 3rd of next month. Yonhap News, The Asia Business Daily DB
The confrontation between the two began with a debate on Facebook. When former leader Han pointed out, "While improving labor conditions is necessary, it is not right to block people's livelihoods through regulations," former lawmaker Jang responded by proposing a debate, calling the regulation "a minimum safeguard to protect workers' lives."
Han maintains his opposition to the ban on early morning deliveries, arguing that "such measures, under the pretext of protecting workers, could infringe on the choices of consumers and small business owners." He questioned, "If night work is not an issue unique to early morning delivery, should we also ban convenience stores, fish markets, and nighttime security services for the same reason?"
On the other hand, Jang emphasized, "It is a distorted perspective to compare issues involving workers' health and lives to 'consumer convenience,'" adding that "the government and businesses must change the reality in which overwork is institutionalized."
The background to this debate lies in the recent death of a Coupang Logistics Service (CLS) delivery worker, which has sparked controversy.
A man in his 50s, working at a logistics center in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, collapsed and died while making deliveries, raising suspicions of death from overwork due to long hours and consecutive shifts.
Progressive Party lawmaker Jeong Hyekyung stated, "It was revealed that the worker had worked more than seven consecutive days," and called on the Ministry of Employment and Labor to conduct a special labor inspection.
A survey conducted by the National Courier Workers' Union also found that more than half of respondents answered that they had worked for over a week without a break.
The union criticized Coupang for "creating the appearance of maintaining a five-day workweek while in reality neglecting the long working hours of specially contracted delivery workers."
In response, CLS stated, "The worker's death was confirmed to be due to heart disease while waiting at the hospital," distancing the incident from any work-related connection.
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