Business Community "Deep Regret Over Passage of Yellow Envelope Act... Corporate and National Economy Will Suffer"

[Asia Economy Reporter Su-yeon Woo] The business community expressed deep regret over the Democratic Party of Korea passing the so-called 'Yellow Envelope Act' in the National Assembly's Environment and Labor Committee, stating that it will lead to a decline in corporate and national competitiveness.

On the 21st, the National Assembly's Environment and Labor Committee held a plenary session and passed amendments to Articles 2 and 3 of the Labor Union Act. The Korea Employers Federation, representing the business community, stated, "Despite the government and ruling party having expressed opposition several times and the business community urging a halt to the review of the amendments, we deeply regret that the opposition party used its majority power to pass the labor union law amendments."

On the 21st, Im I-ja, a member of the People Power Party, requested a procedural speech from Chairman Jeon Hae-cheol before the submission of the amendment to Articles 2 and 3 of the Labor Union Act, known as the "Yellow Envelope Act," at the Environment and Labor Committee plenary meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

The business community expressed concerns that the amendments to the Labor Union Act would indiscriminately expand the concepts of employers and labor disputes. They argue that this would ultimately drag companies, which are not parties to employment contracts, into disputes, severely undermining corporate and national competitiveness.

Furthermore, the amendments are feared to disrupt the industrial ecosystem between primary and subcontractors by expanding the scope of employers and undermining the subcontracting system under civil law. The amendment interprets employers more broadly than the current law as "persons who, even if not parties to the employment contract, have a substantial and concrete position to control or determine the working conditions of workers."

The business community also pointed out limitations such as the expansion of the concept of labor disputes and restrictions on claims for damages for illegal labor actions. They stated, "The expansion of the labor dispute concept will lead to a prevalence of 'strike absolutism' in industrial sites," and "Restrictions on claims for damages for illegal labor actions are inconsistent with the legal system and amount to special privileges for labor unions."