Midnight delivery workers’ safety and health risks in South Korea’s platform economy

Purpose This study aims to examine occupational health and safety risks experienced by midnight delivery workers within South Korea’s rapidly expanding platform economy. The research investigates how algorithmic management systems and regulatory ambiguities combine to create systematic patterns of workplace vulnerability, contributing to theoretical understanding of precarious employment and risk externalization processes. Design/methodology/approach The research employs a mixed-methods design combining in-depth semi-structured interviews with 8 platform-mediated delivery workers and a nationwide web survey of 942 midnight delivery workers. The analytical approach integrates reflexive thematic analysis with descriptive statistics analysis to provide comprehensive empirical insights into workers’ experiences and health outcomes. Findings The analysis reveals systematic risk externalization characteristic of platform-mediated hybrid informality, wherein workers experience interconnected vulnerabilities spanning sleep disruption, safety hazards and institutional exclusion. Key findings include widespread sleep problems (63.6% experiencing post-sleep exhaustion), systematic erosion of rest periods with 46.2% unable to rest during shifts, elevated traffic safety risks with 42.3% experiencing involuntary sleep episodes and substantial healthcare access barriers with 65.1% avoiding necessary medical care. The research documents algorithmic circumvention strategies whereby platform companies maintain formal regulatory compliance while creating structural incentives for workers to bypass protective measures. Originality/value This study provides the first comprehensive mixed-methods analysis of midnight delivery platform workers’ occupational health experiences in an advanced economy context. The research contributes empirical evidence demonstrating how digital labour platforms simultaneously organize coordination mechanisms while informalizing work arrangements, creating novel configurations of precarious employment. The findings offer crucial insights for international platform economy regulation and highlight the urgent need for policy frameworks addressing algorithmic management’s impact on worker safety.