Analysis of workers' compensation and employment insurance for platform delivery workers in Korea

Abstract

A sudden surge of platform delivery workers due to the COVID-19 pandemic has become a global phenomenon; therefore, a social discussion on their protection needs to be urgently addressed. This study aims to analyze the situations of social security systems for platform delivery workers in Korea and Cambodia, mainly focusing on Workers'' Compensation Insurance (WCI) and Employment Insurance (EI). Furthermore, considering the similarity in the WCI structures between Korea and Cambodia, this paper provides policy implications for Cambodia, which still lacks development on social protection for platform delivery workers. This paper is based on recent key literature and interviews with administrators working for WCI and EI to investigate social insurance in Korea and Cambodia. The Korean government has recently executed specific social security policies, through WCI and EI, to protect platform delivery workers. Likewise, there is an active conversation ongoing in Cambodia on the need to protect platform delivery workers, as the nation has a weak policy capacity to build social security systems. Although the Korean case faces some limitations due to their ambiguous labor status and the legal landscape set by traditional labor relationships, the country is making efforts to create a social safety net for all working people. This study expects to give policy implications for Cambodia to establish better social security systems for platform delivery worker using Korea as a model.