Although general economic activities have contracted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is easy to find people who suffer from a significantly intensified workload. One typical example is parcel delivery drivers. Even the ‘social agreement’ among parcel delivery workers, the government, and logistics firms could not clearly resolve the issue of long working hours, resulting in a prolonged strike. From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to June 2021, more than twenty parcel delivery drivers died from long working hours including night work. The South Korean government made a standard contract limiting weekly working hours to no more than than sixty hours, as a key component of the social agreement to reduce parcel delivery drivers’ death from overwork (known as Karoshi). South Korea has a forty-hour workweek system. Even if twelve hours per week of overtime work can be added legally, weekly working hours should not be more than fifty-two hours per week. However, the ‘standard’ for parcel delivery drivers is sixty hours per week. Sixty hours of work per week is so extreme that work-relatedness with cerebrovascular or cardiovascular diseases can be automatically recognized in the workers’ compensation system. To achieve this extreme working hour limit, parcel delivery workers lost many of their colleagues to overwork and had to fight through a strike.

App and algorithm-related factors included the danger of touching and operating the app while driving; the inability to keep your eyes on the road while looking at the app; and promotions that entice drivers to drive in dangerous conditions (heavy rain, heavy snow, etc.). These two areas urgently need attention and improvement. There are global concerns about platform companies’ apps and algorithms, such as protecting workers’ privacy and ensuring their right to know. This study confirms that apps and algorithms are also important factors in safety. Topics for future discussion include: reducing fluctuations in fares due to sales promotions; stabilizing base fares; incorporating driver experience into app design; setting ‘safety fares;’ developing algorithms that can ensure safety and encourage safe behavior; and ensuring workers’ rights and means of participation in decisions related to apps and algorithms.