Working parents, small businesses up in arms over ruling party’s move to scrap overnight deliveries

Employees sort parcels at a logistics center in Seoul. Yonhap

Kim Yoo-jung, 41, a working mother, said she recently signed a petition on the National Assembly’s website opposing the ruling Democratic Party of Korea’s (DPK) move to scrap overnight deliveries.

“I often order late [in the] evening when my elementary school boy needs materials for school the next morning,” she said. “Without overnight delivery, I would have no way to get those in time, since I can’t take time off work. I think I speak for almost all working parents when I say the service is saving a lot of time and energy. Scrapping it would hit working families the hardest.”

Similarly, An Sang-won, a small eatery owner, says his business heavily depends on the service for ingredients.

“My entire business depends on receiving fresh ingredients before sunrise,” he said.

Without overnight delivery, he says he would have to change opening hours, menu prices and maybe even the business model.

“I don’t have time to go shopping for fresh vegetables early in the morning, which takes at least two hours. Time and energy are money. Overnight delivery helps me better manage my day for sustainable business, with my health factored in. The move to scrap the service will force me to rethink how I run my business," he said.

The two are among more than 27,000 people who signed the petition, created Nov. 13 by a woman who identified herself as a “working mother.”

The petitioner said overnight delivery services offered by various companies are critical for meeting last-minute needs, such as children’s school activity supplies and essential household or business goods.

She said the lawmakers and the government should collect opinions beyond certain interest groups and “come up with realistic alternatives that take into account the needs of the groups affected by the move.”

If the petition exceeds 50,000 signatures by Dec. 13, it will automatically be forwarded to the relevant parliamentary committee.

The petition picked up momentum after the DPK-led social dialogue body on delivery services called for an overnight delivery ban in the wake of a Coupang worker’s death, which was suspected to be linked to overwork. The body includes unionized workers affiliated with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the country’s major umbrella labor union.

According to the body, the rising popularity of the service has resulted in heavier workloads and greater health risks for delivery workers.

Labor groups say the system pushes delivery drivers into unsafe schedules and are calling for reduced nighttime operations, along with measures to prevent overwork-related deaths.

Similarly, Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Young-hoon recently warned of the dangers of overnight work, citing the International Agency for Research on Cancer’s classification of night shift work as a Group 2 carcinogen.

According to the minister, the issue requires public discussion about the need for the service, given the potential risks to workers’ health.