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Coupang CEO does dawn delivery with DP lawmaker in promised labor check

Published: 20 Mar. 2026, 15:04 Updated: 20 Mar. 2026, 19:31

Coupang interim CEO Harold Rogers, right, and Democratic Party lawmaker Yeom Tae-young take part in the e-commerce company's dawn delivery work from the evening of March 19 to the next morning, as part of the CEO's promise to take a closer look at the working conditions of the company's delivery workers. [COUPANG]

Coupang interim CEO Harold Rogers kept his word to give a go at dawn delivery around Gyeonggi, after promising to check the labor working environment of the company's delivery workers during a parliamentary hearing last year.

According to Coupang, Rogers worked at a Coupang Logistics Service (CLS) delivery camp in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, from 8:30 p.m. Thursday to 6:30 a.m. Friday, alongside Rep. Yeom Tae-young of the Democratic Party. During the hearing, Yeom had raised concerns about overwork-related deaths at Coupang and suggested that Rogers experience delivery work firsthand.

Before starting the shift, the two exchanged greetings and expressed gratitude for the cooperation. After completing warm-up exercises and delivery training, they began work, including loading packages. Rogers had also conducted a preliminary inspection at a CLS camp on March 12 in preparation for the shift.

Rogers sorted and transported packages before joining a Coupang-employed delivery driver to carry out deliveries by region. The number of households covered during the shift was about 130, and each handled fewer than 200 deliveries, according to reports. Video footage released by Coupang showed Rogers delivering a dawn delivery fresh bag and taking a photo for record-keeping afterward.

The dawn delivery shift was carried out to fulfill a promise made at the National Assembly and to strengthen trust, according to Coupang. As the first time in the distribution and logistics industry that a political figure and a company executive jointly participated in delivery operations, industry observers comment on Rogers’s move as a conciliatory gesture toward the political sphere.

“We are proud of all the workers at Coupang's workplace, including our delivery personnel, who work hard for our customers,” Rogers said. “We will continue to do our best to create safe and advanced working conditions.”

Coupang CEO Harold Rogers takes part in the e-commerce company's dawn delivery work from the evening of March 19 to the next morning as part of his promise to take a closer look at the working conditions of the company's delivery workers. [COUPANG]

Yeom also expressed his thoughts after the work. “I was able to directly observe how dawn deliveries are carried out in the field,” adding, “I keenly felt the reality that the intensity of night labor is quite high within a structure of repetitive work.”

However, following the experience, Coupang did not present any official position or comment regarding the difficulties, workload or working conditions of its dawn delivery workers.

On March 16, the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced a plan for an industrial safety inspection into allegations of overwork-related deaths and concealment of industrial accidents involving Coupang’s dawn delivery workers.

The inspection will examine claims that Coupang attempted to cover up industrial accidents involving overwork-related deaths through an internal response manual and encouraged settlements with bereaved families. The probe will target Coupang’s headquarters as well as Coupang Fulfillment Service and around 100 CLS logistics centers and camps.

Coupang CEO Harold Rogers, second from left, and Democratic Party lawmaker Yeom Tae-young, second from right, pose for photos before taking part in the e-commerce company's dawn delivery work from the evening of March 19 to the next morning. [COUPANG]

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY NOH YU-RIM [[email protected]]