Economic 6 Organizations: "Opposition Party That Forced 'Yellow Envelope Act' Must Take Responsibility"

On the 24th, the business community criticized the opposition parties for deciding to directly refer the amendment to the Labor Union Act to the plenary session of the National Assembly, stating, "The Democratic Party of Korea and the Justice Party must take responsibility for forcibly pushing the bill through, even undermining the legal system review by relying on majority power."

On that day, the opposition parties resolved at the Environment and Labor Committee's full meeting to directly refer the amendment to Articles 2 and 3 of the Labor Union Act, which was under discussion in the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, to the plenary session.

On the 23rd, representatives of six economic organizations expressed their opposition to the ruling party's forced passage of the opposition's "Yellow Envelope Act" at the National Assembly. (From left in the photo) Han Mu-gyeong, People Power Party lawmaker; Kang Seok-gu, Head of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry Research Headquarters; Lee Ho-jun, Executive Vice President of the Korea Federation of Mid-sized Enterprises; Lee Dong-geun, Executive Vice President of the Korea Employers Federation (speaker); Kim Go-hyun, Executive Director of the Korea International Trade Association; Lee Myung-ro, Head of the Human Resources Policy Department at the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business; Bae Sang-geun, Executive Director of the Federation of Korean Industries. [Photo by Korea Employers Federation]

In response, the six major economic organizations?the Korea Employers Federation, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Federation of Korean Industries, the Korea International Trade Association, the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business, and the Korea Federation of Medium-sized Enterprises?issued a joint statement expressing concern that "the amendment indiscriminately expands the concept of employer, which will collapse the industrial ecosystem between primary and subcontractors and severely undermine our industrial competitiveness."

The six economic organizations pointed out that the amendment expands the scope of employers under the Labor Union Act, effectively turning Korean businesspeople into potential criminals. They also added that the expansion of the concept of labor disputes and the limitation of liability for damages would spread a 'strike omnipotence' mentality in industrial sites, causing significant damage not only to domestic companies' investments but also to foreign direct investment.

The six organizations urged, "The National Assembly should halt the plenary session submission of the amendment to the Labor Union Act immediately," and strongly requested, "We urge a reconsideration of the industrial chaos and economic disaster that this bill will bring."