The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions Service Federation National Courier Workers' Union (courier union) and People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) on the 23rd held a "citizens' march to make parcel delivery free of death from overwork," urging solutions to the problem of courier drivers dying from overwork.
The event, held near Dongshipjagak in Gwanghwamun, Jongno District, Seoul, was organized by the courier union, PSPD, and others, and was attended by about 2,000 people, including courier drivers. Participants held signs reading "Life over speed" and "It's okay to be late, safe delivery without overwork," calling for minimizing dawn deliveries and solving deaths from overwork.
Courier union Chairperson Kim Gwang-seok took the stage wearing a mourning ribbon and said, "Courier workers are getting injured and losing their lives on the job to the point that we cannot take off this ribbon," adding, "How many more must die before things change?" Another courier driver who took the stage said, "Dawn delivery is not innovation but exploitation and violence."
The bereaved family of the late Oh Seung-yong, a courier driver who died on the 10th in Jeju while performing Coupang's dawn delivery, also attended the event. Taking the stage, they said that "Coupang's excessive speed competition and structural violence that uses people like machines drove Oh to his death," and argued that authorities should recognize the harmful nature of the dawn delivery system and begin fundamental institutional reforms.
Participants also marched from Dongshipjagak toward Jonggak Station carrying a banner reading "Citizens' march to make parcel delivery free of death from overwork for a society that values life over speed" and parcel boxes labeled "Life over speed."