Delivery sorting operations begin in the early morning. Yonhap News. 

As a ban on deliveries during late-night hours (0-5 AM) is being pushed, primarily by labor groups, the online shopping industry, which transports night shift logistics workers, and the chartered bus industry have voiced their opposition to a late-night delivery ban.

The Korea Online Shopping Association issued a statement today, expressing grave concern that "a complete restriction on early morning deliveries will lead to various socio-economic side effects such as inconvenience to consumers, damage to farmers, fishermen, and small business owners, and a reduction in jobs for logistics workers."

The association argued that as early morning delivery has become deeply integrated into the daily lives of various demographics, including dual-income households and single-person households, restricting early morning deliveries will drastically reduce convenience.

Furthermore, the association emphasized the need to consider the economic damage to farmers, fishermen, and small and medium-sized business owners who rely on early morning delivery as their main sales channel, as well as the blow to the competitiveness of the online retail industry.

The Online Shopping Association is a non-profit private economic organization comprised of leading domestic online shopping related companies, including Gmarket, Coupang, Naver, 11st, Woowa Brothers, Kakao, and SSG.com.

Ahn Sung-kwan, chairman of the National Chartered Bus Survival Alliance (Jeonsaengyeon), issued a statement on the 4th, stating that "the discussion to halt early morning deliveries ignores reality and dismantles the lives of ordinary people," and urged an end to the discussion of stopping early morning and late-night deliveries.

He added, "This is a critical issue that demolishes the workplaces of countless workers responsible for their families' livelihoods in the night shift logistics sector, and collapses the survival foundation of the chartered bus industry that safely transports them to and from work."

He emphasized, "Our industry has created a structure that allows business owners who work honestly through night operations to continue their lives by ensuring the safe commute of workers during the early morning hours. The idea of removing the livelihood base of chartered bus workers must be stopped."

Jeonsaengyeon is an organization comprising about 100 chartered bus operators. It is estimated that about 1,000 chartered buses are operated for Coupang's night logistics, and about 800 commuter buses for four companies including Culumy and CJ Logistics are in operation.

Earlier, the Coupang Partners Association (CPA), which represents about 10,000 subcontracted delivery drivers for Coupang, criticized the push for late-night delivery restrictions in a statement yesterday, calling it "a declaration of livelihood deprivation for night shift drivers and self-inflicted harm to the delivery industry."

In an online survey conducted by CPA among 2,405 early morning delivery drivers, 93% of respondents opposed the 'restriction of early morning deliveries during late-night hours.' Eighty-four percent also opposed the 'day/night delivery rotation system' proposed by some.

The Coupang regular delivery drivers' union and consumer groups such as the Consumer Sovereignty Citizens' Coalition have also expressed their opposition to the push for a late-night delivery ban.

Yonhap News