Employees pass by stacks of goods at a Coupang logistics center in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, on the 26th, when a short-term contract worker in his 50s collapsed and died in the early morning while performing picking work of placing items into a cart and moving them. Kwon Do-hyun, reporter

After fatal accidents involving night-shift workers at Coupang logistics centers occurred in succession, Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Young-hoon paid an unannounced visit on the night of the 28th to a Coupang logistics center in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province to inspect night work and compliance with safety rules.

At the center that day, Minister Kim directly checked the work sites and rest facilities. He also examined whether measures to protect the health of night workerssuch as working and break hours, whether health examinations are conducted, and follow-up management of examination resultsare being properly implemented.

Minister Kim pointed out, “It is the medical community’s shared view that people should work when the sun is up and rest when it is down,” adding, “If night work is repeated, even if not immediately, it can lead to cerebrocardiovascular diseases and cause serious consequences.”

He continued, “We will examine the actual conditions at Coupang’s logistics and delivery centers where night work is carried out on a regular basis,” and stated, “We will do our best to implement measures to protect the health rights of night workers.”

So far this year, a total of seven workers have died while performing Coupang-related work, including day laborers and contract delivery drivers, with two dying in just the past five days. The times of death have also mostly been concentrated late at night or in the early morning. There is growing criticism that Coupang’s dawn-delivery system has normalized nighttime labor, threatening workers’ health rights.