Justice Party's New Floor Leader Bae Jin-gyo: "Passage of the Yellow Envelope Act in the Plenary Session is the Top Priority"

Interview with Bae Jin-gyo, Floor Leader of the Justice Party
Following the Yellow Envelope Act, the Basic Law for Working Citizens
Promoting Four Major Legislations Including the Platform Antitrust Act and Korean-style IRA Act

"The passage of the Yellow Envelope Act in the plenary session is the top priority."

Bae Jin-gyo, floor leader of the Justice Party, recently identified the passage of the so-called 'Yellow Envelope Act,' which limits corporate claims for damages against striking workers, as the highest priority in an interview with Asia Economy. The Justice Party and the Democratic Party of Korea are pushing for the direct referral of the Yellow Envelope Act to the plenary session during the May extraordinary session of the National Assembly, but the People Power Party opposes it, calling it a 'law that encourages illegal strikes.'

Having served as the floor leader of the Justice Party during the 1st and 2nd terms of the 21st National Assembly, he was re-elected as the floor leader on the 9th, marking the beginning and end of the Justice Party's floor policy leadership. Leader Bae said, "The beginning and the end may not be different, but my determination and sense of duty as the last floor leader are even more profound." With the general election for the National Assembly coming up next year and numerous tasks related to party reorganization, he showed a more resolute determination.

Jeonguidang Floor Leader Assemblyman Bae Jin-kyo. Photo by Heo Young-han younghan@

Following the Yellow Envelope Act, Leader Bae has set the 'Basic Law for Working Citizens,' the 'Platform Antitrust Act,' and the 'Korean-style IRA Act' as four major legislative tasks and plans to focus on pushing these during his tenure. Regarding the 'Basic Law for Working Citizens,' he noted that workers in workplaces with fewer than five employees, special employment workers, and so-called 'riders' who work on platforms cannot take sick leave even when ill.

Accordingly, the core is to grant 'worker rights' equally to all working laborers. Addressing the 'platform' issue, which is one of the most pressing needs for self-employed individuals, is also listed as a task. Leader Bae explained, "We have proposed the Platform Fairness Act to improve unfair transactions between platform operators and tenant businesses." Unlike the two major parties, which focus only on 'industry' in the Korean-style IRA bill, the Justice Party plans to proactively respond to job changes by focusing on the 'people' that they have overlooked.

Leader Bae said, "We are in a climate crisis, but everyone is only talking about industrial transition. People are missing." He added, "We need a 'Korean-style IRA' law that can enable a just transition responding to jobs and climate change." He said, "Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung also said the Korean-style IRA law is necessary, but there was only talk about supporting industry, not jobs. Employment is an area that definitely needs support in industrial transition," and "We plan to push legislation that can implement this."

He emphasized, "The role of the floor leader in the second half of the year is to create 'weapons' that allow our party members to confidently say, 'This is what the Justice Party is doing' when they go to their regions. We will also support candidates preparing for next year's general election so that they can act confidently and proudly."

Until now, the Justice Party has aligned its legislation with the major opposition parties, receiving criticism as the 'Democratic Party's second squad' or the 'People Power Party's second squad.' Recently, due to growing antipathy toward the two major parties, the non-affiliated voter group has increased to 30%, but the Justice Party's approval rating remains in the single digits. Leader Bae said, "I reflect on this," adding, "From the voter's perspective, they need to be confident that the party they support will grow stronger in the future, but the Justice Party has not yet given such expectations to the non-affiliated voters."

He explained, "That is why we have no choice but to bring up party reorganization." Leader Bae said, "According to recent polls commissioned by the party, our support base includes many white-collar workers, self-employed individuals, and people in their 40s and 50s. When asked what the Justice Party should do for them, they responded that they want policies for ordinary people such as non-regular workers." He added, "Although they work where there are labor unions, they agree with the values of progressive parties and want us to seek ways to protect and support other workers who receive worse treatment or are not protected, rather than their own interests. It was a very meaningful process." He said, "I believe we need to concretize the three pillars of labor as the foundation, inequality resolution, and climate crisis response (through legislation rather than just slogans as in the past)," and "We will finalize the roadmap for party reorganization by September."

Jeonguidang Floor Leader Assemblyman Bae Jin-kyo. Photo by Heo Young-han younghan@

In the recent floor leader election, the debate over party reorganization saw a fierce clash between the 'self-strengthening theory' and the 'new party theory,' with Leader Bae, who advocated self-strengthening, winning. The self-strengthening theory focuses on internal changes within the Justice Party, while the new party theory argues that a level of change equivalent to founding a new party through active alliances with forces outside the Justice Party is necessary. Leader Bae said, "There is no new party without self-strengthening," and it is inappropriate to resolve the party reorganization task simply through dichotomous thinking. He added, "The basic core of focusing on 'labor, inequality, and climate crisis response' is not significantly different whether it is self-strengthening or the new party theory."

Leader Bae said, "Party reorganization will proceed with both content and form, including 'social vision preparation' and 'the party's appearance,'" and "The final decision will be made in September." More people are calling for the new party name to be 'Social Democratic Party.' However, he said, "As the Justice Party changes, there is also an opinion that a name accurately reflecting our current aspirations is needed," and "We will discuss this thoroughly and go through a process of collecting opinions before revising it."