Why South Korea Is Debating Overnight Delivery
Tuesday, 2026/07/28283 words4 minutes1474 reads
South Korea's dawn-delivery economy has made rapid online shopping feel ordinary. A customer can order close to midnight and expect a package at the door by 7am. Yet the service depends on a workforce that sorts, loads and delivers goods while much of the country sleeps.
The BBC's reporting has renewed a debate about whether this model adequately protects night workers. It presents accounts from families whose relatives experienced severe strain while working overnight. In two cases, the Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service concluded that work or overwork had contributed to a worker's death. Those official findings do not establish that every night-delivery job is unsafe, but they have intensified calls for stronger safeguards.
One family said a delivery driver's records showed a schedule of six days a week and shifts longer than 11 hours, mostly at night. The driver was employed by a logistics contractor rather than directly by Coupang. That distinction matters because large delivery platforms often rely on networks of subcontractors, making responsibility for working conditions harder to trace.
Coupang disputes allegations that it neglects worker safety. The company says directly employed staff are kept below a 52-hour weekly limit, that contractor drivers should receive a full weekend off every two weeks, and that health examinations are funded for both groups. A driver interviewed by the BBC also argued that many people voluntarily choose night work for its income.
The policy challenge is therefore broader than a single company or tragic case. Consumers value speed and low prices, while workers need predictable rest, health monitoring and meaningful safety standards. The debate asks whether an ultra-convenient service can be designed so its hidden labour is not treated as an unlimited resource.
