Sohn Kyungshik: "One-Year Postponement of Yellow Envelope Act Needed for Social Dialogue"

The Minimum Time Needed for Social Dialogue
Business Community Holds Rally at National Assembly Opposing the Amendment
"Business Community's Demands Ignored... Strong Condemnation"

"The proposal to postpone the 'Yellow Envelope Act (Amendments to Articles 2 and 3 of the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act)' for one year stems from the belief that social dialogue is necessary. A six-month period is not sufficient to respond, and at least one year is needed to allow for meaningful discussion." (Sohn Kyungshik, Chairman of the Korea Employers Federation)

Sohn Kyungshik, Chairman of the Korea Employers Federation (KEF), emphasized the need for time for social dialogue regarding the amendment to the Yellow Envelope Act.

Economic organization leaders, including Sohn Kyungshik, Chairman of the Korea Employers Federation, held a press conference on the 18th at the National Assembly Communication Office urging the suspension of the revision of the Labor Union Act. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

In a phone interview with our publication on the 19th, Chairman Sohn stated, "In this era of global competition, how can we expect to win if we are the only ones to pass such a law?" He added, "In the past, labor and management have resolved issues through social dialogue."

He further explained, "What the business community is demanding is that the scope of negotiation partners should not be expanded to include subcontractors, and that management decisions should not be subject to labor disputes. The one-year postponement of implementation is a very significant pillar."

The business community continued to voice its opposition to the amendment of the Yellow Envelope Act on this day, following the proposal of three major demands containing these points the previous day.

On the afternoon of the same day, more than 200 representatives from the business community-including the six major economic organizations such as the Korea Employers Federation, Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Federation of Korean Industries, Korea International Trade Association, Korea Federation of SMEs, Korea Federation of Middle Market Enterprises, as well as regional KEF branches and industry-specific associations-held a rally on the steps in front of the National Assembly main building to oppose the amendment of the Trade Union Act.

The participants stressed, "The bill is being pushed through without any consultation between labor and management through social dialogue," and "We strongly condemn the National Assembly for pushing the bill forward by only reflecting the demands of labor while ignoring those of the business community."

They continued, "We have repeatedly appealed for the scope of employers (Article 2, Paragraph 2 of the amendment) to remain as stipulated in the current law, and for 'management decisions' to be explicitly excluded from the scope of labor disputes (Article 2, Paragraph 5 of the amendment). Even now, we strongly urge the National Assembly to accept at least the minimum demands of the business community so that our companies can maintain their competitiveness while also guaranteeing workers' labor rights."

Meanwhile, the business community has expressed a forward-looking stance on Article 3 of the amendment. They stated, "In line with the intent of the Yellow Envelope Act, which seeks to alleviate the burden of damage compensation for workers involved in illegal strikes, we have actively proposed alternatives to the National Assembly, such as setting a separate cap on compensation amounts in the enforcement decree and preventing wage garnishments."