Coupang joined the Korean Federation of Business Owners. The dominant analysis is to preemptively respond to labor regulation risks. Coupang is experiencing difficulties due to the recent death of a courier worker (Coupangman).
According to industry sources on the 17th, Coupang recently applied for joining the Gyeongchang, an economic organization that focuses on labor-management relations, as an official member. An official of the KCTU explained, “Coupang decided to formally join a member company in the process of seeking advice on labor-related matters.”
Coupang has been controversial over overwork. When the death of an employee occurred, the courier union and others insisted that it was due to Coupang’s excessive work orders. Coupang explained that the working hours of the deceased were lower than the industry average, but the political world is in the mood to prepare regulations related to shipping. In the industry, it is pointed out that if regulations are created, Coupang’s core competitiveness of’fast delivery’ may be threatened.
There is also an analysis that it is a decision to respond to increasing corporate regulations. A major disaster punishment law, which contains criminal penalties for management when a serious disaster occurs at a workplace, is representative.
In a stock report filed with the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in the United States, Coupang stated that the severe disaster punishment law was a’special risk unique to Korea’. The same is true of the online platform law, which states that if consumer damage occurs, the platform operator is liable for solidarity.
Coupang said in a stock report that “if these laws are enforced, it may not be possible to focus on Coupang’s core business.”
It is known that information technology (IT) companies, which are growing rapidly in recent years, are also considering whether to join the Federation of Korean Industries.
An official from the economy said, “Because game developers and other IT companies have a characteristic that their work is concentrated at a specific time, they have no choice but to pay much attention to regulations such as the 52-hour work week. The number of companies that are trying to do it is increasing.”
Reporter Do Byeong-wook [email protected]
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