Busan opens convenience store rest stops for delivery riders amid record heat

As record-breaking heat pushed Busan's high temperature to 38.8 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, the city announced Thursday it will run a "mobile worker convenience store shelter" program for two months — August and September — to protect the health and rest rights of platform workers such as delivery riders who spend long hours outdoors.

The program provides private convenience stores as 24-hour rest spaces that mobile workers exposed to extreme urban heat can use at any time. The city is running the initiative in partnership with BGF Retail (CU) and Woowa Brothers (Baemin).

The city previously operated seven mobile worker support centers and shelters, but their hub-based model limited accessibility. To address this, the city has designated at least three major locations per district across all 16 districts and counties — 48 convenience store shelters in total — and plans to gradually increase the number of participating stores.

Designated shelters will display official certification plaques and offer food and beverages. To ease the burden on participating convenience stores, the city plans to supply each designated store with 10 standard 50-liter garbage bags per month.

Workers can find the nearest shelter from their current location through the Baemin Connect delivery platform or the mobile worker support center's Kakao channel. To use a shelter, a mobile worker shows their platform app screen at the convenience store to verify eligibility, then may receive once per day — per person — bottled water, a beverage and a snack worth up to 2,000 won ($1.40).

Alcohol, tobacco and daily necessities are excluded, and any amount exceeding 2,000 won must be paid by the worker. Users must consent to the collection of personal information and fill out a usage log with their name, occupation and contact details. Food and beverages will be provided until the budget is exhausted.

Alongside the shelter program, the city is also pursuing a "special heat-response plan" to protect outdoor workers during summer. Seven mobile worker support centers and shelters are distributing more than 23,000 heat-safety items — including ice water, cooling arm sleeves and neck coolers — while rest areas have been set up at the labor counseling office inside the Labor Welfare Center and at the Yeonje Labor Support Counseling Office, where bottled water and snacks are provided.

The city identified 22 workplaces particularly vulnerable to heat and supported them in purchasing heat illness prevention equipment such as portable air conditioners. From Wednesday through Aug. 5, the city has formed a joint inspection team with the Busan Employment and Labor Office to check whether private worksites in construction, manufacturing and other industries are complying with the "five basic heat safety rules."

From Aug. 10 through Aug. 15, a special inspection by a labor safety and health monitoring team of private experts will cover construction and project sites commissioned by the city and district governments. Also in August, the city plans to provide customized cooling kits — each containing cooling arm sleeves and pocket ice packs and valued at 30,000 won per person — to approximately 1,700 subcontractor workers at seven major local shipbuilding companies, including HJ Shipbuilding & Construction.