In Busan, South Korea, a delivery driver's final handwritten note — beginning with the words 'I have been wronged' — has opened a window onto the quiet suffering of those who keep modern life moving. His death by suicide, one of at least eleven among delivery workers since the pandemic began, arrives at the intersection of surging consumer demand and a labor system that extracts fees from the very workers it depends upon. President Moon Jae-in has acknowledged the precarity of essential workers pushed toward economic collapse, suggesting that what was once invisible may no longer be ignored.
South Korea probes delivery driver's death amid crisis in logistics sector
A delivery driver died by suicide after documenting unfair contract terms; at least 11 delivery workers have died since the pandemic began, with overwork cited as a contributing factor.
I have been wronged.
Mark
What exactly did the note say? Was it a formal complaint or something more personal?
Mimi
It started with "I have been wronged." Then he laid out the specific costs eating into his pay—the security deposit upfront, the premium to work in his area of Busan. Those weren't abstract complaints. He was documenting the mechanics of how the contract was structured against him.
Luke
Do we know if the note was addressed to anyone, or if it was more of a record he was leaving behind? That distinction matters for understanding his state of mind.
Mimi
The reporting doesn't specify that. We know what was in it and that KBS obtained it, but not the form or intended audience.
Mark
Is this practice—the deposits and premiums—actually illegal, or just exploitative?
Mimi
That's the question no one's answered yet. Kim In-bong from the union confirmed it's standard across the major companies, which suggests it's legal. But legal doesn't mean it's sustainable when you're working 12-hour days during a pandemic.
Luke
And we should note: we don't know the driver's name. He's unidentified in all the reporting. That's worth sitting with—the anonymity itself.
Mark
Why would CJ Logistics apologize if they haven't been accused of anything specific yet?
Mimi
Pressure. Two of their workers died in the same month. Lawmakers visited their facility. The government is watching. An apology is a way of acknowledging the crisis without admitting fault.
Luke
Though "apology" is what lawmakers said CJ would issue. We don't have the actual statement yet.
Mark
So what changes, if anything?
Mimi
That's still unknown. The apology is scheduled for Thursday, but the reporting doesn't say what it will contain or what reforms, if any, will follow.
Luke
And the broader question: are there policy conversations happening about gig economy protections, or is this still just individual companies responding to individual deaths?
Mimi
Moon's statement suggests the government sees this as systemic. But a statement isn't a policy. We're in the early stage of what might become pressure for actual change.
O Pulso
- A Busan delivery driver died by suicide after documenting in his own hand the fees and deposits that were quietly draining his wages — a system he called simply unfair.
- Fourteen detectives have been assembled to investigate his death and verify the note, signaling that authorities are treating this not as a private tragedy but as a matter of public accountability.
- His death is not singular: at least eleven delivery workers across South Korea have died since the pandemic began, with overwork and exhaustion woven through nearly every case.
- The financial practices he described — upfront security deposits, territorial premiums — are industry-wide, embedded in contracts at major logistics firms including CJ Logistics, a subsidiary of one of South Korea's largest conglomerates.
- CJ Logistics, facing two worker deaths within days of each other in October, is preparing a formal apology — an acknowledgment of crisis, though the shape of any real reform remains unresolved.
- President Moon's public statement of concern signals that the gig economy's hidden costs may finally be approaching the threshold of policy response.
In Busan, South Korea, a delivery driver's final handwritten note — beginning with the words 'I have been wronged' — has opened a window onto the quiet suffering of those who keep modern life moving. His death by suicide, one of at least eleven among delivery workers since the pandemic began, arrives at the intersection of surging consumer demand and a labor system that extracts fees from the very workers it depends upon. President Moon Jae-in has acknowledged the precarity of essential workers pushed toward economic collapse, suggesting that what was once invisible may no longer be ignored.
A delivery driver in Busan, South Korea, died by suicide after leaving behind a handwritten note that began with the words 'I have been wronged.' The driver, employed by the logistics company Logen, detailed in his note two specific financial burdens imposed by his employer: an upfront security deposit required to begin work, and a premium charged for the right to deliver packages within his assigned territory. Both costs, he wrote, came directly out of his salary.
South Korean police assembled a team of fourteen detectives to investigate the death and authenticate the note. The case is not an isolated one. At least eleven delivery workers across the country have died since the pandemic began, with overwork, exhaustion, and illness cited as contributing factors. The surge in package delivery demand brought on by COVID-19 has placed enormous pressure on workers who are classified not as employees but as independent contractors — a distinction that leaves them exposed to financial arrangements that larger companies have long treated as standard practice.
Kim In-bong, secretary general of a national logistics workers union, confirmed that security deposits and area premiums are common across the industry, including at CJ Logistics, a subsidiary of one of South Korea's most powerful conglomerates. CJ itself has faced two worker deaths in October alone — one man in his late forties on October 8, another in his late thirties found dead at home four days later. Under mounting pressure, CJ Logistics announced plans to issue a formal apology, though what concrete changes to contracts or working conditions might follow remains unclear.
President Moon Jae-in issued a statement of concern on Tuesday, acknowledging that the pandemic is pushing workers in precarious employment toward economic collapse. His words arrived as the investigation into the Logen driver's death was already underway — a moment in which a single handwritten note had made visible a system that had long operated in the shadows of South Korea's booming delivery economy.
South Korean police opened an investigation Wednesday into the death of a delivery driver who left behind a handwritten note documenting what he described as unfair contract practices with his employer. The driver, who worked for Logen, a local logistics company, was found dead in Busan, South Korea's second-largest city. His death has been ruled a suicide. The note, discovered Tuesday, began with the phrase "I have been wronged," according to reporting from KBS, a South Korean television network. In it, the driver detailed specific grievances: the company required him to pay an upfront security deposit and charged him a premium for the right to deliver packages in his assigned area. Both payments, he wrote, came directly out of his salary.
The Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency assembled a team of 14 detectives to investigate the death and authenticate the note. The case arrives amid a broader crisis in South Korea's logistics sector. At least 11 delivery workers across the country have been found dead since the pandemic began. Overwork, exhaustion, and illness have been identified as contributing factors in many of those deaths. The latest driver's death is not an isolated incident but part of a pattern that has drawn the attention of the highest levels of government.
President Moon Jae-in issued a statement of concern about essential workers on Tuesday, saying that COVID-19 was pushing workers in precarious employment situations—including those classified as special-employment type workers—toward economic collapse. His remarks came as the investigation into the Logen driver's death was underway. The security deposit and area premium practices that the driver cited in his note are not unique to Logen. Kim In-bong, secretary general of a national logistics workers union, told KBS that such deposits are standard across contracts with major logistics companies, including CJ Logistics, a subsidiary of CJ Group, one of South Korea's largest conglomerates.
CJ Logistics itself has faced recent worker deaths. A man in his late 40s with the surname Kim died on October 8. Another CJ employee in his late 30s was found dead at his residence on October 12. In response to mounting pressure, CJ Logistics announced plans to issue a formal apology on Thursday, according to lawmakers who visited a CJ logistics center on Wednesday. The apology signals acknowledgment of the crisis, though it remains unclear what concrete changes the company intends to make to contract terms or working conditions. The deaths and the driver's note have exposed a system in which workers bear financial burdens—security deposits and territorial premiums—that reduce their take-home pay while they work under conditions of intense pressure to meet delivery quotas during a pandemic that has surged demand for package delivery.
Citações Notáveis
COVID-19 is increasingly pushing the livelihoods of workers within economic blind spots, including those of special-employment type workers, towards the brink.— President Moon Jae-in
Security deposits are a common feature of contracts with top logistics companies, including CJ Logistics.— Kim In-bong, secretary general of a national logistics workers union
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