South Korean Lawmaker Proposes Using Platform Data to Improve Loan Access for Delivery Riders
Rep. Ahn Do-geul proposed a model involving platforms, guarantors, and banks to address income verification delays hindering delivery riders' access to credit.
According to a report by ZDNet Korea, South Korean lawmaker Ahn Do-geul of the Democratic Party of Korea proposed a financial support model for delivery riders during the National Assembly's comprehensive audit on October 22, 2026. The proposal suggests collaboration among delivery platforms, guarantee institutions, and banks to utilize platform settlement data for loan assessments, aiming to alleviate financing difficulties faced by the rider community.
Data from Rep. Ahn's office indicates that there are approximately 1.5 million platform workers in South Korea, including about 500,000 delivery riders. Despite some riders earning annual incomes of up to 100 million KRW, they often face restrictions when applying for bank loans due to the lack of timely income verification. Currently, riders rely on income amount certificates issued by the National Tax Service after filing their comprehensive income tax returns in May of the following year, creating a lag of up to a year and a half in confirming actual earnings. This information gap forces many riders to depend on higher-interest second-tier financial institutions or informal lending channels.
The core of the proposed model is to reduce this verification lag and integrate fragmented income sources. Under the scheme, platforms would verify recent income with rider consent, guarantee institutions would issue guarantees based on this data, and banks would execute loans using these guarantees alongside repayment capacity reviews. Additionally, the proposal recommends allowing financial institutions to legally use monthly simplified payment details held by the National Tax Service to better assess total income across multiple platforms.
However, implementation faces significant hurdles. Riders often work across multiple platforms, and delivery fees may be paid directly by subcontractors, making it difficult for individual platforms to aggregate total income. Furthermore, whether financial institutions will accept platform settlement data as valid proof of income, and how they will establish corresponding risk control standards, remains uncertain. Industry insiders note that without clear procedures for data linkage and specific criteria for bank acceptance, translating this proposal into actual financial products will be challenging.