First appellate court ruling recognizing the worker status of delivery riders

The Seoul High Court has issued its first ruling stating that delivery riders who work through a platform can also be regarded as employees under the Labor Standards Act. This case was an appeal in a lawsuit filed by A, a member of the Rider Union branch, against delivery platform company B over invalid dismissal and a claim for wages, and it ended in a partial victory for the plaintiff as the lower court's decision was overturned. The court recognized the rider's status as a worker on the grounds that orders and deliveries are carried out only through the app, that the calculation and payment of compensation follow standards set by the company, and that the rider's own decisionmaking authority is restricted even in the dispatch process. It also stated that, taking into account the characteristics of platform labor, the Labor Standards Act must be interpreted to fit reality. The labor community believes this ruling could serve as an opportunity to expand employers' responsibilities toward platform workers. Some labor groups argued that discussions on a pertask minimum wage for piecerate workers should be restarted, and 전망 is emerging that it could also affect other platform labor such as designated driver services and quick delivery services in the future.