Yoon Hee-sook: "Yellow Envelope Act Could Ruin South Korea's Economy"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Former People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Hee-sook criticized the so-called 'Yellow Envelope Act (Amendment to the Labor Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act)' submitted by the Justice Party as "a law that could extremely ruin our economy" and called it a 'Galapagos law' that exists nowhere else in the world.

On the 17th, Yoon said on SBS's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' "Among the bills introduced since last year, this is the most important one."

Eunju Lee, floor leader of the Justice Party, and other Justice Party lawmakers held picketing in the hallway where the Environment and Labor Committee subcommittee was held on the 26th at the National Assembly, urging the immediate enactment of the Yellow Envelope Act. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

The ruling Democratic Party and the Justice Party, which hold the majority in the National Assembly, support the Yellow Envelope Act, so despite opposition from the People Power Party, it cannot be ruled out that the bill will be passed during the January extraordinary session.

Yoon pointed out, "The first pillar of the Yellow Envelope Act is that if an illegal strike is carried out, as long as there is no violence or destruction, no responsibility will be held, but no country does this," adding, "Because occupying production facilities and stopping production deprives other workers of their right to work."

She also noted, "The second pillar of the Yellow Envelope Act is to enable negotiations between subcontracted workers and the primary contractor, but this too could disrupt the economic system. Hyundai Motor currently has about 10,000 subcontractors. If those 10,000 subcontractors tell Chairman Chung Eui-sun (Hyundai Motor) 'Primary contractor, come out' and try to negotiate, will the economy function?" She added, "Also, subcontractors are parties who have individually signed labor contracts, and this ignores the contents of those contracts."

She criticized, "Looking at the contents of the Yellow Envelope Act, you can see how completely isolated our legislature is from the world," and said, "Regardless of whether it is passed within January or not, it is truly a law that makes one sigh."

She continued, "The bill exempts damages claims altogether and allows negotiations between primary contractors and subcontracted workers, which is very Galapagos-like," and criticized, "Our country is the 10th largest economy in the world, but the thinking is really just confined to themselves, and in cases like Daewoo Shipbuilding, which became a social issue, it is done very populistically."

However, she left room for discussion by saying, "The idea of capping the amount of damages for strikes is also done in the UK, so it is worth discussing."