Leaving Behind Sons Aged 8 and 6... Coupang Courier Who Died After 11-Hour Night Deliveries Recognized as Industrial Accident

"Urging Coupang to Officially Apologize and Take Appropriate Responsibility"

The Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service has recognized the death of Coupang delivery worker Oh Seungyong, who died in an accident during early morning delivery last year, as an industrial accident.

The scene of the Coupang delivery truck accident that occurred around 2:10 a.m. on November 10 last year on a road in Ora 2-dong, Jeju City. Jeju Fire and Safety Headquarters

On January 4, the Jeju branch of the National Courier Workers’ Union announced in a statement that the Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service had approved industrial accident status for Mr. Oh. The union emphasized, "The state has belatedly acknowledged that his death was not due to personal negligence, but was a work-related accident caused by prolonged and consecutive early morning labor and a brutal working environment."

The union continued, "At the time of the accident, he had been repeatedly working long hours without sufficient rest within Coupang’s early morning delivery system, and was forced to handle both dangerous late-night and early morning driving and excessive delivery volumes. He was even placed in a working environment so far removed from a humane life that he could not rest properly even during his own family’s funeral."

The union further criticized, "After his death, Coupang maintained a prolonged silence and failed to offer a responsible apology, measures to prevent recurrence, or any sincere action for the bereaved family. Instead, the company spread false information about drunk driving, damaging his reputation and causing irreparable harm to his family."

The union stated, "This recognition of industrial accident makes it clear that his death was not an 'unavoidable accident' but a 'foreseeable disaster.' Coupang must officially apologize for his death and take appropriate responsibility for his family."

Previously, on November 10 last year, a delivery driver in his 30s, working for a Coupang subcontractor, crashed a 1-ton truck into a utility pole while making deliveries on a road in Ora 2-dong, Jeju City, at around 2:10 a.m. Mr. Oh, who suffered serious injuries in the accident, passed away at 3:10 p.m. the same day.

It was confirmed that Mr. Oh was a specially employed and indirectly hired worker, not protected by the Labor Standards Act or any legal safeguards regarding working hours. He reportedly worked night shifts from 7:00 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. the following day, six days a week, averaging 11 hours and 30 minutes per day. Notably, after handling his father’s funeral from November 5 to 7, he took only one day off on the 8th, and returned to work at around 7:00 p.m. on the 9th. According to the union, the accident occurred while he was returning to the camp after completing the first round of deliveries and preparing for the second. He is survived by his wife and two sons, aged eight and six.