Woowa Youth logs 222 claims through August this year; 2,179 cumulative over past 6 years

Four delivery and logistics firms account for 43.7% of claims among top 20 workplaces

Baemin Riders, operated by Woowa Youth. [Provided by Woowa Brothers]
Baemin Riders, operated by Woowa Youth. [Provided by Woowa Brothers]

Woowa Youth, the company that operates Baemin's delivery rider service, has again topped the list of workplaces with the most youth industrial accident claims this year — its fourth consecutive year at No. 1 since 2023. Three Coupang Inc subsidiaries ranked second through fourth.

According to data submitted to Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Park Ji-hye of the National Assembly's Climate, Energy, Environment and Labor Committee by the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service, Woowa Youth filed the most workers' compensation claims among workers aged 19 to 34 from January through August this year, with 222 cases. Coupang Fulfillment Service followed with 166 claims, Coupang Eats Service with 155, and Coupang Logistics Service with 147.

Woowa Youth recorded 2,179 youth industrial accident claims from 2021 through August this year — the highest of any single workplace to appear on the top-20 list during that period. Of those, 2,084 were approved. Last year's claims totaled 271, down from a peak of 489 in 2022, but the company has already logged 222 claims in just eight months this year, equivalent to 81.9 percent of last year's full-year total.

The three Coupang subsidiaries combined for 468 claims through August this year, reaching 92.1 percent of their combined full-year total of 508 last year. Coupang Eats Service has already matched its entire claim count from last year, while Coupang Logistics Service has surpassed last year's figure of 135.

All four of the top workplaces for youth industrial accident claims this year are in the delivery and logistics sector. Their combined 690 claims accounted for 43.7 percent of all claims filed by the top 20 workplaces. Nineteen of those 20 workplaces employed 1,000 or more workers.

Total youth industrial accident claims rose 13.9 percent, from 23,698 in 2021 to 26,985 in 2024. Claims stood at 26,638 last year, and 19,504 have been filed through August this year. Cumulative claims from 2021 through August this year reached 146,893, of which 139,014 were approved.

"The race to deliver each order faster is being waged at the cost of young riders' safety," Park said. "The Ministry of Employment and Labor must conduct a full investigation into the youth industrial accident situation at delivery and logistics platform companies and develop preventive measures targeting structural risk factors such as dispatch algorithms and time pressure."


fact0514@heraldcorp.com