This photo, taken on Sept. 16, 2020, shows deliverymen of South Korea’s food delivery application operators. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Oct. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — A mutual benefit association has been established to protect delivery personnel and other platform laborers.
The Federation of Korean Trade Unions held an inauguration ceremony for the Labor Aid Association for Korean Platform Freelancers on Tuesday at its office in Seoul’s Yeouido district.
The association will now be in charge of offering welfare and aid programs and vocational training courses for platform workers and freelancers who provide a labor service through platforms like smartphone applications.
Any platform worker or freelancer who creates an installment savings account at a commercial bank will be entitled to receive annual interest of up to 240,000 won (US$205) for 100,000 won deposited into the account each month.
The association will also provide subsidies of up to 500,000 won per person for acquiring national certificates, enrolling in vocational training, taking vocational exams, and interviews.
The association’s establishment was made possible by contributions from federation agencies and the Financial Industry Public Interest Foundation, which vowed to invest 3 billion won each year to train and financially rear platform workers.
It is estimated that there are 1.79 million platform workers and 4 million platform freelancers in South Korea.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
