Seoul City said it will run a reporting support center to stop illegal employment of foreign delivery riders. Through the Seoul Labor Rights Center and Dasan Call Center (Seoul), it will provide counseling and reporting guidance together. It judged that crackdowns alone are not enough to reduce problems in the field. At the center, people can get advice about the visa range that can work in delivery jobs, reporting methods and procedures, where to report by case, and punishment rules for violations. Seoul City decided this support function was needed after meetings with related industries. According to the article, the number of foreign nationals caught for illegal employment in delivery and courier work rose sharply from 2023 117 people to 2025 486 people. It is clear that these are recent statistics quoted by Seoul City, but in the research material, there are also numbers from a different standard where the Ministry of Justice counted delivery work separately. Seoul City explained that illegal employment of foreign riders is a serious problem that harms the rights and interests of domestic workers and also threatens citizen traffic safety. It also suggested to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport that a registration system for small parcel delivery service businesses should be introduced, and asked delivery platforms to strengthen qualification checks for foreign workers and account management.
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Why did Seoul City suddenly make even a reporting center?
If you only look at this news, it may just sound like 'stronger crackdown on foreign riders'. But if you look a little closer, the story is much more complicated. It is hard to check who is really working on delivery apps, and if status of residence (the legal status to stay in Korea and work), license, insurance, and platform account all start moving separately, it becomes not just a simple immigration control issue but a road safety issue.
This is exactly why Seoul City made the reporting support center. In the field, there were many gray areas like 'Can this visa do delivery work?', 'Is this person's account really their own?', and 'Where should I report this?' So instead of only making punishment stronger, Seoul City combined the expert counseling of the Seoul Labor Rights Center and the easy access of Dasan Call Center (Seoul) and added 'administration that first organizes the confusing points'.
If you look a little bigger, this measure is closer to a scene that shows the weak link of the Korean delivery market rather than a policy targeting only one foreign group. Delivery services grew very fast, but the visa system, platform management, and insurance and license verification system could not fully keep up with that speed. So now the question becomes this. Why did this problem grow especially fast in the delivery industry?
Seoul City added counseling and reporting guidance, not only crackdowns.
It saw the delivery rider issue as a matter where status of residence, labor rights, and traffic safety overlap.
The number caught tells the story — why did the delivery industry stand out?
If you move your mouse over the dot, you can see the number. These two numbers are a comparison under the same counting standard quoted in the Yonhap News article. Other articles and agency data have numbers counting only delivery work separately, so a simple added comparison is difficult.
Why illegal employment can grow easily in the delivery industry
| Factor | What it means | Why it is a special problem in delivery work |
|---|---|---|
| Rapid rise in demand | After COVID, delivery orders increased explosively | When people are urgently needed, immediate dispatch can easily come before checking qualifications |
| Platform structure | The order platform, agency, and individual rider are separated | The responsibility to check who the real driver is gets split into several stages |
| Status of residence mismatch | The visa that allows work and the real demand in the field do not match well | People with restricted status of residence, like students, can easily enter through indirect ways |
| Account lending and identity theft | There are cases of people working with an account under a Korean person's name, not their own account | Inside the app, it may look normal, but the real driver can be different |
| Per-delivery fee structure | This is a system where you get paid for each delivery | From the employer side, it is easier to bring in workers more loosely than through formal hiring |
| Combined safety issue | If license and insurance checks are missing, the risk of accidents becomes bigger | So this is not just a simple work violation, but directly connects to public safety |
What status of residence do foreigners need to do delivery work
| Status of residence | Possibility of delivery work | Simply explained |
|---|---|---|
| Residence·Permanent Residence·Marriage | High possibility | These are status of residence with a high level of freedom for general work, like Residence, Permanent Residence, and Marriage immigration, so delivery work is usually possible too |
| Overseas Korean·Working Visit | Need to check | The freedom to work is relatively wide, but you need to check more to see whether delivery work is interpreted as a restricted industry or simple labor |
| Student·Job Seeking | Mostly restricted | Even if Student and Job Seeking visas allow some part-time work, platform-type work like delivery rider jobs is usually seen as limited |
| Non-professional Worker | Structurally not suitable | It is a workplace-based employment system, so it does not fit well with freely moving work like platform delivery |
| Short-term stay visa | Actually not possible | It is for tourism or short visits, so employment itself is basically prohibited |
Why this problem does not stop at visas and can spread into public safety
| Item | Properly registered rider | Name lending and illegal employment rider |
|---|---|---|
| Real-name account match | There is a high chance that the real driver and the name on the app account match | The real driver and the account name holder may be different |
| License check | It is easier for the platform or company to follow the checking process | If it is an account under another person's name, the real driver's license check can be left empty |
| Paid transport insurance enrollment | It is relatively possible to enroll in and keep insurance for delivery use | In a state of illegal employment or name mismatch, enrollment may be difficult or its validity may become a problem |
| Accident responsibility tracking | It is checked relatively quickly who was driving | If an accident happens, tracking responsibility between the driver, name holder, and platform can get tangled |
| Speed of damage recovery | There is a high chance the insurance company will handle it first | The victim may need to go through direct claims or compensation program procedures, so it can be delayed |
Why enforcement alone is not enough, and why counseling and guidance were added
| Method | Strength | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Enforcement-centered | It has deterrent power and can quickly catch clear violations | It responds after detection, so prevention is weak, and it is hard to reduce confusing cases |
| Enforcement + counseling and guidance | It can create a prevention effect by telling people in advance about visa limits, reporting steps, where to report, and punishment rules | Guidance alone has no force, so it works only when it goes together with enforcement |
| Expert counseling + call center together | You can get both the accuracy of labor consultant counseling and the easy access of the Dasan Call Center (Seoul) call center at the same time | If the rules change often, a system is needed to quickly update the field |
How did the delivery rider issue become a labor rights, platform regulation, and immigration control issue?
This problem did not appear in one day. As the delivery market in Korea grew, the focus of attention slowly moved.
Stage 1: Around 2018 — dangerous work started to be seen
At first, the center of public discussion was not the foreigner issue but rider safety. As problems like heat waves, industrial accidents, and traffic accidents became known, more people saw delivery as dangerous work hidden behind a convenient service.
Stage 2: 2019~2020 — the platform labor debate became serious
As delivery apps grew, people started to debate whether riders were self-employed or in reality workers. The issue of special employment types also came up together.
Stage 3: 2020~2022 — COVID grew the market all at once
During COVID, delivery orders exploded, and demand for riders jumped too. The market grew very fast, but insurance, safety, and job protection systems had a hard time keeping up with that speed.
Stage 4: 2023~2024 — people started asking about platform responsibility
Now the focus moved from just individual riders to the structure of platforms and delivery agencies. The key question became who should take responsibility for dispatch algorithms, fees, real-name checks, and training.
Stage 5: 2024~2026 — immigration control and citizen safety became linked together
After the endemic period, problems like illegal employment of foreign riders, identity theft, and driving without a license or insurance became bigger, so the issue changed completely. Now the delivery rider issue has become a complex social problem where labor rights, platform regulation, and immigration control are all tangled together.
So this news is not only about foreigners
If you live in Korea for a long time, you sometimes think this: 'Delivery in Korea is really fast.' That is true. But that speed stays possible only because someone keeps moving inside a very tight system. This news shows how much that system can shake even in the most basic parts like identity check, license check, and insurance check.
So if you read this only as "news about cracking down on foreigners," you understand only half of it. The real questions are how Korean society will legally accept needed labor, how far it will hold platform companies and delivery agencies responsible, and how it will protect citizens when accidents happen. In the article, the Seoul city government said it suggested to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport that a registration system for small-package delivery service operators should be introduced. The direction of this discussion can be understood as strengthening not only after-the-fact enforcement but also advance checking systems.
In the end, a good system has to do two things together. It has to reduce illegal acts, and at the same time, it has to let people who can work legally work more clearly. Then foreigners feel less anxious, citizens become safer, and platforms have a harder time avoiding responsibility. So the next time you open a delivery app, you can also think like this: behind this one delivery, there are so many system problems that Korean society still has not organized yet.
The foreign rider issue is not only a visa issue, but also a problem of account real-name identity, license, insurance, and the structure of accident responsibility.
The Seoul city government's reporting center is a response that goes one step wider than stronger enforcement, including prevention and guidance.
The key issue from now on is how far platforms and delivery agencies must check the qualifications of the actual driver.
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