The South Korean government will consult with the country's logistics companies to improve labor conditions for parcel delivery workers, in response to public outcry over deaths blamed on overwork amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Thursday, the ministries of labor and transport announced a set of guidelines to improve conditions, such as setting the maximum daily working hours for delivery workers in accordance with their workload.

The government will restrict delivery services after 10 p.m. for daytime couriers and recommend that employers adopt a five-day workweek.

Through consultations with unions and logistics companies, efforts will be made to reduce hours spent on categorizing parcels and loading them onto trucks, which the delivery worker unions claim are not part of their job duty.

The government will also crack down on unfair business practices, such as logistic companies slashing the fee per parcel delivered to pay rebates to product sellers, forcing couriers to take on additional workload to make ends meet.