[Unofficial translation provided by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre]

In the ‘boiling heatwave’, 11 hours of parcel delivery without a break… gig workers pushed towards death”, 13 July 2025

Three delivery workers died in succession between 4 and 8 July in the greater Seoul area, where temperatures have neared 40°C in what has been described as an ‘extreme heatwave’. The exact causes of death have not yet been confirmed, but the courier workers’ union claims they are unlikely to be unrelated to the heatwave. On the night of the 8th, a man in his 60s collapsed while tidying carts in the underground car park of a large supermarket in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. He was taken to hospital but later died. Police are currently investigating the exact cause of death.

In response to the string of worker fatalities, both government and corporations have hastily introduced countermeasures. A proposed revision to the ‘Regulations on Occupational Safety and Health Standards’, which includes a clause mandating ‘at least 20 minutes of rest every two hours when the perceived temperature exceeds 33°C’, passed the Regulatory Reform Committee on its third attempt on 11 July. On the same day, CJ Logistics announced it would allow delivery workers to voluntarily exercise the right to suspend work and that no responsibility would be imposed for delayed deliveries. Although the ‘20-minute break rule’ does not apply to specially employed workers such as couriers, CJ Logistics stated it would implement mandatory breaks of 10 minutes per 50 minutes (or 20 minutes per 100 minutes) of work at all worksites during the heatwave period.

However, in reality, the rules are often not observed on the ground. The day after CJ Logistics announced its protective measures for delivery workers, Mr Shin worked more than 13 hours without a break. … Of course, [this is because] Mr Shin is not directly employed by CJ Logistics. He belongs to a subcontracted firm under CJ Logistics and its secondary subcontractor. Mr Shin stated, “I can’t take breaks because I have to deliver the assigned volume within the allotted time.” If the delivery rate drops, the company may reassign the delivery area from the worker.

Another group of mobile workers referred to as having a ‘brutal summer occupation’—urban gas meter inspectors—also face difficulty securing proper rest breaks. Even during the summer, when gas consumption is lower, they must inspect at least 500 households per day. To read meters, they often have to push through vegetation or climb over locked gates, so they must wear thick clothing even in hot weather and constantly suffer from heat-related illnesses.

To address this, the Seoul Metropolitan Government introduced a ‘bi-monthly inspection’ guideline in the summer of 2020. Under this system, from June to September, inspectors conduct meter readings for one month and take the next month off. However, as the guideline is not legally binding but merely advisory, it is poorly enforced. Moreover, the inspectors are not employed by the city or by the gas suppliers directly, but by subcontracted agencies. This makes oversight by the Seoul government even more difficult. Some subcontractors temporarily suspended inspections between late July and mid-August last year, but this year, they are reportedly reluctant to implement the bi-monthly inspection system. One inspector noted, “Recently, union members who demanded bi-monthly inspections have been subjected to lawsuits, and now everyone feels intimidated.”