[The Editors' Verdict] Patchwork Laws and the Minus Sum Game

The Non-Regular Worker Protection Act, passed by the National Assembly in 2006 and implemented the following year, was introduced with the intention of improving the treatment of non-regular workers after their numbers surged following the International Monetary Fund (IMF) foreign exchange crisis. There is no separate statute or official name called the 'Non-Regular Worker Protection Act.' It is a collective term encompassing laws such as the 'Act on the Protection of Fixed-Term and Part-Time Workers,' the 'Act on the Protection of Dispatched Workers,' and the 'Labor Relations Commission Act.' Although the law was verbally aimed at protecting non-regular workers, the business community opposed it, arguing that protecting non-regular workers would increase corporate costs, while labor groups claimed it would become a law that produces more non-regular workers. Later, both labor and management agreed in unison that the Non-Regular Worker Protection Act was "a law that should never have been born." Regarding the card of converting non-regular workers to regular workers, which was promoted by the Moon Jae-in administration, conflicts between labor and management, as well as among labor groups themselves, continue over the conversion methods and changes in wages and treatment.

The minimum wage has been decided each year after repeated deadlocks among labor groups, management, and public interest commissioners, reaching compromises at ambiguous points (a compromise line based on the public interest commissioners' proposal). In the last presidential election, all candidates called for the 'era of a 10,000 won minimum wage.' Considering the economic scale, growth rate trends, and price levels, it was appropriate to raise the minimum wage beyond the management's demand for a freeze or minimal increase. However, it rose by about 30% in two years, from 7,530 won in 2018 (a 16.4% increase decided in 2017) to 8,350 won in 2019 (10.9%). Small and medium-sized enterprises, small business owners, self-employed individuals, and even large corporations complained of excessive burdens, leading to a reduction in the increase rate to around 2% over the next two years, with aftereffects continuing. As the minimum wage rose sharply, some said, "Shouldn't one be able to buy seolleongtang after working for an hour?" and "Didn't everyone pledge a 10,000 won minimum wage in the last presidential election?" However, the problem was not 'minimum wage = seolleongtang price,' but the speed and extent of the increase, and pledges are not absolute values that must be kept unconditionally but issues that should be re-examined through cost and analysis according to various conditions and situations.

Regarding the Serious Accident Punishment Act (Serious Accident Act), extreme confrontations continue among labor, management, government, and progressive and conservative camps. The Justice Party, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), and families of industrial accident victims demanded the original bill's passage and even went on hunger strikes. The proposition that "life is precious and all efforts must be made to protect it" is an absolute truth. However, reflecting this truth in reality is not easy. Respect for life and legal/administrative punishment inevitably differ. Regarding the government's revised bill, which incorporated opinions from various sectors, the National Assembly, labor groups, and management all opposed it. The National Assembly showed differences, with conservatives and progressives arguing that the implementation timing (grace period criteria) and penalty scale were either relaxed or strengthened compared to the original bill. Labor groups claimed it was a significant retreat and staged hunger strikes, while management opposed the revised bill, saying it was still excessive. Given this, it is natural to question why a law that everyone strongly opposes must be pushed forward now.

Kyung-ho Lee, Head of Social Affairs Division

When the ambiguous government proposal is evaluated as "It should be done, but since opposition is strong, some compromise will do," it is uncertain how it will change during the National Assembly's deliberation process. There is a high possibility it will become a patchwork law. If a patchwork or hastily processed law passes the National Assembly and is implemented, the damage will fall entirely on the stakeholders (or organizations and companies) involved in the law. No one takes responsibility. Rather, it seems more appropriate to reconsider it from the beginning. Those involved in government relations say that although more than six months have passed since the 21st National Assembly convened, compared to before, only the number of bills proposed has increased, while the speed of bill deliberation and processing has shortened. If laws and systems that have become patchwork through hasty and inadequate deliberations are implemented, it will inevitably become a minus sum game where all stakeholders end up worse off.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.