'It eats away at my body': The human cost of S Korea's ultra-convenient overnight deliveries

'It eats away at my body': The human cost of S Korea's ultra-convenient overnight deliveriesImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, South Korea's huge delivery industry, powered by thousands of warehouse workers and riders, is under scrutinyByJake Kwon, Leehyun Choi and Hosu LeeReporting fromSeoulPublished41 minutes agoA week before her son died Park Mi-suk asked him to quit his job.For more than a year, the 27-year-old had been working overnight shifts at a warehouse for the country's largest online retailer, Coupang. He steered pallet movers with stacks of plastic bins and cardboard boxes across the sprawling space.In that time, Park says, her son lost 15kg and often complained of how tired he was.But Jang Deok-jun refused to quit. He compared his job to being on a seesaw: if he stepped down, his co-workers would struggle to keep going.The following week, Park found him unconscious and hunched over in the bath. "We pulled him out and performed first aid. We rushed him to hospital, where they declared him dead."Jang died of a heart attack. The state-run insurer that covers healthcare for workers, Comwel, blamed his death on overwork following an investigation.Park wishes she had noticed Jang's exhaustion sooner. "I didn't pay attention to my son's words, so I lost my son. But I hope others won't repeat the same mistake."Jang died in 2020 but six years on, Park is still fighting to end what she believes is the reason for his death: night-time deliveries.Image source, Family handoutImage caption, Jang Deok-jun was 27 years old when he died of a heart attackJang died as deliveries surged during the pandemic, which was often cited to explain his workload. But the working conditions for warehouse and delivery workers have been the subject of a growing national debate, with their union claiming that suspected deaths from overwork have continued.Night-time deliveries have become ubiquitous in hyper-connecte...