ISSUE BRIEFING

The Paradox of the 40 Trillion Won Delivery Era: Why Rider Incomes Are Moving Backward

While the delivery market transaction volume grew 10.9% year-on-year to reach an annual scale of 40 trillion won as of January 2026, riders' perceived incomes have actually decreased, leading to a paradox where protests are even calling for a minimum wage per delivery. Although Baemin announced that the average monthly income of riders increased to 3.93 million won, this is based on total gross income before cost deductions for full-time riders working 40 hours or more per week, creating a wide gap with the actual net income of many riders who must bear fuel and insurance costs. The first cause is the free-delivery competition among platforms that began in earnest in 2024, where cost-cutting pressures were passed on to rider delivery fees, lowering the unit price per delivery and increasing labor intensity through bundled deliveries. The second and third causes are oversupply due to the influx of two-job workers amid a youth employment slump, and a cost-shifting structure featuring opaque algorithmic dispatch and straight-line distance delivery fee calculations. Entering 2026, as discussions on a minimum wage per delivery, the implementation of a presumptive employee status system for platform workers, and legislation on fee transparency gain momentum, the era of 'earning as much as you run' has passed, and the very rules of unit pricing and distribution have been brought to the negotiation table.