President Lee Chairs Cabinet Meeting
Second Commercial Act Amendment to Take Effect in One Year, Yellow Envelope Act in Six Months
Korea Development Bank Act Amendment Passes for "Advanced Industry Fund"
Statutory Capital Limit Raised from 30 Trillion Won to 45 Trillion Won
President Lee Jaemyung has approved the second amendment to the Commercial Act, which centers on introducing a cumulative voting system for listed companies with assets of 2 trillion won or more, as well as the so-called Yellow Envelope Act (the amendment to Articles 2 and 3 of the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act).
On September 2, at the presidential office in Yongsan, President Lee convened a Cabinet meeting and reviewed and approved a total of five legislative promulgation bills, including these amendments. The key features of the second amendment to the Commercial Act, which was passed this time, are the mandatory introduction of the cumulative voting system for listed companies with assets of 2 trillion won or more and an increase in the number of separately elected audit committee members from one to two. This is an additional amendment following the first amendment to the Commercial Act, which passed the National Assembly plenary session in July, and will take effect one year after promulgation.
The Yellow Envelope Act, which had raised significant concerns among the business community and opposition parties, expands the definition of employers and the scope of labor disputes, and restricts companies from claiming damages against striking workers. It will take effect six months after promulgation. Both of these bills passed the plenary session on August 24 and 25, respectively, led by the ruling party after a filibuster by the People Power Party, which opposed the bills.
Additionally, at the Cabinet meeting on this day, amendments to the Broadcasting Culture Promotion Association Act (BCPA Act) and the Korea Educational Broadcasting System Act (EBS Act) were also passed. The core of the so-called three broadcasting laws, the Broadcasting Act, passed the Cabinet meeting on August 18, while the remaining BCPA Act and EBS Act crossed the Cabinet threshold on this day. The amendments passed today increase the number of directors at the BCPA, the largest shareholder of MBC, and at EBS from nine to thirteen, and diversify the entities eligible to recommend directors. Like the Broadcasting Act, they also provide the basis for establishing a national recommendation committee for public broadcaster CEO candidates and for introducing a special majority system and runoff voting.
The amendment to the Korea Development Bank Act, which raises the statutory capital limit of the Korea Development Bank from 30 trillion won to 45 trillion won, was also approved. This amendment increases the statutory capital limit and mandates the establishment of a 100 trillion won fund to support financing for advanced strategic industries such as semiconductors, secondary batteries, and artificial intelligence (AI).
Eight presidential decrees were also approved, including the regulation on the establishment and operation of the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy Committee, and a partial amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Narcotics Control Act, which clarifies the exceptions for verifying medication history when medical practitioners handling narcotics or psychotropic drugs issue prescriptions. As general agenda items, proposals for the use of general reserve funds to support the operation of the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy Committee, the implementation plan for public stockpiling, and next year's government-managed grain supply and demand plan were also approved.
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