Korean truck drivers and food delivery riders held a demonstration in Seoul today, calling for fair pay standards and an International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention to protect rights for platform workers.
Members of the ITF-affiliated Korean Public Service and Transport Workers Union (KPTU) mobilised 600 delivery riders, truck drivers and supporters on a convoy through Seoul.
The workers rallied at the headquarters of major platform operators Coupang Eats and Baedal Minjok (Baemin), a subsidiarity of the Germany-based multinational Delivery Hero.
Both groups of workers are classified as “independent contractors” in South Korea – denying them basic employment protections under the law.
These workers are organising together to fight for the reinstatement of the Korean Safe Rates system, and demanding that it be expanded to include all road transport workers, including those working via digital apps.
From 2020 to 2022, a Safe Rates Committee composed of union, government and industry representatives set standards for pay and related conditions for truck drivers. These rules placed obligations on companies contracting road transport services to ensure fair pay and safety standards would be met throughout their supply chains.
With national elections upcoming on 3 June 2025, the KPTU is calling on political leaders to reinstate and expand the life-saving Safe Rates system to all road transport workers including in the gig economy, and to support a binding ILO Convention on decent work in the platform economy.
Kim Dongguk, President of KPTU Cargo Truckers Solidarity Division, said: “The main goal for KPTU-TruckSol under a new government is the reintroduction and expansion of the Safe Rates system. As ‘independent contractors’, we stand in full solidarity with platform workers in South Korea and globally who deserve Safe Rates and a strong ILO Convention that can fully protect their rights.”
The convoy also exposed exploitative practices by food delivery platforms. According to the KPTU Riders Union, Baemin has cut already low base pay rates from 3000 won (1.57 GBP) to 2500 won (1.31 GBP) per delivery, while outsourcing much of its operations to subcontractors under “Baemin Plus”.
These changes have forced riders to work dangerously long hours to cover their costs or rush deliveries to meet bonus targets – putting lives at risk.
Gu Gyohyeon, President of the KPTU Riders Union, said: “Over the last two years Baemin has ‘delivered’ close to 1 trillion won to parent company Delivery Hero, either as cash dividends or in the form of share buybacks, while at the same time cutting pay rates and forcing drivers into a competitive race that is costing lives. This is why Baemin has the worst record for industrial accidents of all companies in Korea.”
“We’re fighting on all fronts to change this situation. We are calling on Baemin management to engage with riders, we are seeking legal reform in Korea, and fighting for a strong convention at the ILO.”
The ILO will begin debate on a potential instrument during the International Labour Convention in June this year.
The ITF, alongside our affiliates and trade unions internationally, is leading the call for strong protections including a primacy of facts in determining the existence of employment relationships, fair pay and conditions, and trade union rights for all gig workers.
“Korean delivery riders and truck drivers are showing the world what solidarity looks like,” said ITF General Secretary Stephen Cotton.
“They’re standing up to exploitation at home and leading the charge for global change. This isn’t just a Korean issue – this is a worldwide struggle for safety and dignity in the platform economy. The ITF stands proudly with these workers in calling for real accountability, real protections, and a binding ILO Convention that puts people before profit.”
