“I make 3.3 million won a month in Korea”: The lucrative part-time job spreading among international students revealed

[Financial News] An account by a foreign student who earned 3.3 million won a month from delivery work while studying in Korea has been made public. The number of foreign nationals caught working illegally in the delivery sector has topped 1,100 so far this year.

On the 9th, according to political sources, Rep. Kim Ki-pyo of the Democratic Party of Korea disclosed the extent of illegal delivery work by foreign students and called for tighter oversight of delivery platforms during the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee’s audit of the Ministry of Justice the previous day.
A social media (SNS) post released by Rep. Kim included an account that said, “I earned 3.3 million won a month from delivery while studying in Korea.” The writer said they worked delivery jobs nine hours a day on weekdays and 12 hours a day on weekends.
Posts recommending delivery part-time jobs to foreign students were also shared online. Some online communities even posted lists of universities with lighter class workloads, making it easier to work delivery jobs alongside classes, as well as advice on how to handle enforcement actions.
Posts were also found offering information on trading motorcycles and license plates for delivery work, as well as on lending accounts for delivery platforms such as Baemin and Coupang.
Under current law, foreigners staying in Korea on student visas cannot work as delivery riders, even if they receive permission for part-time employment.
Despite this, the number of people caught working illegally is rising sharply. According to data released by Rep. Kim, 1,132 foreign nationals were caught working illegally in the delivery sector from January through August this year, about 16.9 times the 67 caught in all of last year.

Some delivery partners were found to have advertised that foreigners who were ineligible to work could still take jobs after reaching an arrangement. There were also cases in which they explained how to receive wages under someone else’s name.
A working delivery rider who appeared as a witness at the parliamentary audit pointed out a loophole in identity verification, saying that if an account holder passes along the verification code, someone else can also make deliveries using that account.
Rep. Kim criticized delivery platforms for paying partner companies incentives based on their success in recruiting riders and other performance measures while being lax in overseeing illegal employment. He called for strong measures, including contract termination, against partner companies involved in illegal employment.
Baemin said it had set up a tip-off center after becoming aware of the account-lending issue, and stated that it would not evade its responsibility for oversight.
Lee Jin-su, acting Minister of Justice, said, “Immigration authorities alone face limits in responding,” adding, “Cooperation between special judicial police and the police is necessary.”
He added that “structural improvements to working arrangements are also being discussed with the relevant ministries.”
[email protected] An Gaeul Reporter