A worker who was infected with COVID-19 while working at the Coupang logistics center in Bucheon was the first to request recognition of an industrial accident.

On July 8, a committee to help workers who fell victim to COVID-19 at Coupang said, “We received a request from a worker who was infected with COVID-19 while working at the Coupang Bucheon Logistics Center to recognize this as an industrial accident.”

Kim Hye-jin, an activist at the Solidarity to Abolish Unstable Labor said, “Other workers are also consulting possible requests.” According to the epidemiological survey by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the local government, so far a total of 152 people have been infected with COVID-19 at the Coupang logistics center in Bucheon since the first patient was confirmed in May.

The committee argued that since the cluster transmission at the logistics center occurred while the workers were on duty, this could be recognized as an industrial accident. The committee said, “Workers who were infected by the first confirmed patient spread the virus while working at the logistics center.” They also mentioned the fact that the logistics center did not abide by the basic guidelines for prevention. According to the committee, the transmission of the virus was easy at the logistics center--a closed environment due to the nature of the low-temperature logistics center, where hundreds of workers worked densely together.

Jung Eun-kyeong, head of the Central Quarantine Headquarters said in a briefing at the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this day, “When we inspected the site, we determined that the workers were restricted, faced with difficulties wearing masks due to the nature of the work environment, and they did not closely abide by quarantine guidelines in rest areas, commuter buses and the cafeteria.” She concluded, “We believe that a mix of the environment, which made it hard to wear masks, and the lack of distancing in rest areas and the cafeteria contributed to the latest outbreak.”

This day, the office of Justice Party lawmaker Ryu Ho-jeong organized an event asking workers infected with COVID-19 at Coupang to speak at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul. Here, the Coupang workers explained how vulnerable the work environment at Coupang logistics centers was to COVID-19 transmissions. According to the workers, basic preventive measures, such as wearing masks and using hand sanitizers, were not followed at the logistics center where they worked. A (49), a Coupang worker said, “Things move at a quick pace when working at the logistics center. Middle managers don’t wear masks because they’re busy shouting, ‘Quickly, quickly.’”

Employees at the logistics center also worked with their bare hands because they couldn’t handle the workload within the given time with gloves on. B (50), a former worker at Coupang said, “Although hundreds of workers work there, there are only three cubicles and two faucets in the women’s bathroom on each floor,” and added, “When we suggested improvements to the work environment, the company first asked about performance.”