Counter to Yoon Emphasizing 'Labor Law Revision'... Democrats Pledge to Abolish Preliminary Injunctions on Compensation Claims

Euljiro Series Debate on Labor Issues... "We Will Pass the Yellow Envelope Act"
Leader Woo Won-sik: "Yoon Stigmatized for Illegal Strikes"
Yoon Gun-young: "Law and Principles Favor the Powerful"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] When President Yoon Seok-yeol emphasized the "eradication of illegal activities in industrial sites" at the 100-day press conference after his inauguration, the opposition party countered by saying they would "abolish provisional seizure for damages." This means they plan to pass the so-called ‘Yellow Envelope Act’ (an amendment to the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act) that limits lawsuits for damages and provisional seizure against labor unions that harm corporate activities through strikes, making a clash between the ruling and opposition parties over labor issues inevitable.

The Democratic Party’s Euljiro Committee and the Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) Response Task Force (TF) held a consecutive forum at the National Assembly on the 18th to discuss the need to revise the provisional seizure for damages system. The forum was attended by members of the Euljiro Committee, TF lawmakers, and representatives from the Metal Workers’ Union.

They criticized the Yoon administration for branding the DSME subcontractor union strike as an ‘illegal strike.’ Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho warned last month that criminal punishment and damages would be unavoidable. The day before, President Yoon also stated at a press conference, "We have resolved the DSME subcontractor branch strike and the Cargo Solidarity’s transportation refusal issue," adding, "We will pursue an advanced labor-management relationship through autonomous dialogue and negotiation within the law and principles." In response, TF leader Woo Won-sik rebutted, saying, "Strikes, which are constitutional rights, are naturally legal," and criticized, "Emphasizing law and principles while boasting about solving their own problems is an attitude to cover up incompetence in leading labor-management conflicts to reconciliation."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Democratic Party urged the passage of the Yellow Envelope Act in the National Assembly along with the formation of a special committee at the parliamentary level to improve the shipbuilding industry structure. The Yellow Envelope Act was first proposed in the 19th National Assembly in 2016 by then Saenuri Party lawmaker Eun Soo-mi and was also introduced in the 20th and 21st National Assemblies, but there has been little progress so far. TF leader Woo said, "We have submitted the Yellow Envelope Act several times, but it just ends every time the National Assembly session finishes," adding, "We also proposed forming a special committee for structural improvement of the shipbuilding industry at the parliamentary level, but the People Power Party did not respond." Participants at the forum emphasized that "the three labor rights under the Constitution are concrete rights themselves," and stressed the need to revise the scope of damages, limits on damages, and standards for determining illegality.

Despite President Yoon’s labor law reform stance, the Democratic Party expressed opposing views. President Yoon revealed his intention to amend labor laws, saying, "Under the new structure of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the labor law system applied to that industrial structure must also change." He also emphasized that issues pointed out in Korean society, such as labor market polarization and strengthening social safety nets, must be supported. Democratic Party lawmaker Yoon Gun-young criticized on a radio program that day, saying, "Just listing reform tasks does not provide anything to evaluate," and "There is no method of ‘how to do it’." He added, "The law and principles have often sided with the powerful until now," and criticized, "If the president emphasizes law and principles, the field will inevitably give up on dialogue."

Hong Ji-wook, vice chairman of the Metal Workers’ Union who attended the forum, said, "Since the Democratic Party holds the hammer of legislation, I hope they will legalize the prohibition of provisional seizure for damages."