93% of surveyed Coupang workers object to KCTU proposal restricting late-night deliveries

A growing number of Coupang delivery workers are voicing opposition to a proposal that would restrict deliveries between midnight and 5 a.m. The Coupang Partners Association said on Monday that it opposes the proposal.

The Coupang logo is seen on a delivery truck at the company's logistics center in Seoul on Aug. 6. [YONHAP]

A growing number of Coupang delivery workers are voicing opposition to a proposal that would restrict deliveries between midnight and 5 a.m.

The Coupang Partners Association (CPA), which represents about 10,000 subcontracted deliverers for Coupang, said on Monday that it opposes the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU)’s proposal to ban late-night deliveries.

“While claiming that the dismissal of workers is a form of 'murder,' they are in fact trying to dismiss late-night delivery drivers," the CPA said in a statement. "It’s not late-night deliveries that should be abolished, but meaningless social dialogue."

The group said that among 2,405 drivers surveyed, 93 percent opposed banning early morning deliveries.

“We question whether the KCTU has actually listened to real delivery workers. This is just a void repetition of the words from people who have never experienced late-night delivery work,” the statement read.

According to the survey, 95 percent of respondents said they want to continue late-night deliveries, and 70 percent of them said they would look for other nighttime jobs if the restrictions were implemented.

The CPA also said that 89 percent opposed the KCTU’s dual-shift alternative, which would start deliveries either from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. or from 3 p.m. to midnight.

“If deliveries start at 5 a.m., traffic will already be congested, and elevators will be full of children and commuters, making deliveries impossible. The proposal ignores basic on-site realities,” the CPA said.

The union for Coupang workers, Cou-nion, which represents about 7,000 direct-hire delivery workers, also issued a statement recently saying that early-morning deliveries are Coupang’s core competitive edge and that restricting those hours would cause "many delivery workers to lose their jobs."

The union added that moving all deliveries to daytime hours would worsen traffic and increase public complaints.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom. BY SHIN HYE-YEON [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]