Korean Prime Minister: "Yellow Envelope Act is Unconstitutional and Conflicts with Current Law... Need to Reexamine the Law's Content"

"Post-Burden of Suppressing Public Utility Rate Hikes... Tasks Should Not Accumulate"

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] Prime Minister Han Duck-soo stated on the 22nd regarding the Yellow Envelope Act (Amendments to Articles 2 and 3 of the Labor Relations Adjustment Act), which the Democratic Party is pushing forward, that “it is a law with so many problems that I think we need to review the contents of the law once again.” He added, “The government’s intention is that this issue should be reviewed and organized again in the National Assembly.”

Earlier, on the 21st, the Democratic Party’s Environment and Labor Committee passed the Yellow Envelope Act in the absence of People Power Party members. The Environment and Labor Committee is composed of a minority government with the Democratic Party (9 seats) and the Justice Party (1 seat) holding the majority.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo is delivering opening remarks at the 'Regulatory Sandbox Innovative Companies Meeting' held on the 15th at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

At a back briefing with reporters held at the Government Complex Sejong on the same day, Prime Minister Han said about the Yellow Envelope Act, “(The Yellow Envelope Act) conflicts with the Constitution and other laws in many parts, and it practically nullifies the compensation system for illegal acts that is naturally enforced under civil law.”

He particularly diagnosed, “There are issues such as the imbalance of power between labor and management not being properly achieved, which is expected to cause many difficulties in the actual operation process.” Prime Minister Han said, “Our government’s policy is to have a strong will for this issue to be thoroughly reviewed and organized again in the National Assembly.”

Regarding President Yoon Suk-yeol’s stance on freezing public (electricity and gas) rates in the first half of the year, he stated, “If the increase is suppressed for a long time, it will definitely result in a greater burden afterward, so the idea of minimizing the accumulation of postponed necessary actions remains unchanged.”

However, Prime Minister Han explained that President Yoon’s recent order to adjust the pace of rate increases was “because the trade balance showed a deficit in January due to energy price issues, and keeping in mind the burden on the public, he suggested making adjustments.” Prime Minister Han said that only price adjustments for the first quarter have been made, and meetings with related ministries regarding public rate adjustments for the second quarter will be held in February and March.

Regarding labor reform, he mentioned that productivity can be increased by creating a transparent society from the perspective of “total factor productivity.” Prime Minister Han pointed out, “There is much concern about the decline in potential growth rate, especially due to low birth rates, population decline, and poor global economic conditions, and the ability to grow during such times is a matter of institutional issues.” He said, “Illegal acts by construction unions must be clearly excluded in our country, and the labor sector must do so as well for the public to trust them. There is absolutely no intention to oppress the labor sector.”