Opposition: "If persuasion of the ruling party on the supply price linkage system fails, we will unilaterally process it in the standing committee"

Democrats Promise Legislation Within This Month
"Special Committee on Livelihood Must Operate Within Deadline, Negotiations Needed"
Mentions Guaranteeing Collective Bargaining Rights and Formation of Subcontractor Unions

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] The Democratic Party of Korea has pledged to pass the 'Delivery Price Linkage System,' a common pledge between the ruling and opposition parties, within this month. They expressed their intention to have the opposition party pass it unilaterally through the relevant standing committee if discussions are not concluded by the end of this month at the Special Committee on Livelihood Economy, whose activity period ends soon.

On the 18th, Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, held a meeting with small and medium-sized business owners at the National Assembly and stated, "We plan to push forward the Delivery Price Linkage System this time to make it a reality." The Delivery Price Linkage System is a mechanism that automatically reflects changes in raw material prices in the delivery price during subcontracting transactions between the original contractor and subcontractors.

Park Hong-geun, the floor leader, pointed out issues with the Special Committee on Livelihood Economy, which had promised to discuss the bill, and said they would not hesitate to pass it unilaterally. He emphasized, "If persuasion of the ruling party fails until the end, I believe the Democratic Party, which chairs the standing committee, should handle it alone," adding, "There are about 12 days left in the Special Committee on Livelihood Economy's term, and we urge the government and ruling party to come to the negotiation table responsibly."

At the meeting, Kim Ki-moon, chairman of the Korea Federation of SMEs, Kang Dong-han, CEO of Hanho Industry, and Yoo Byung-jo, CEO of Daewon CMC, attended and urged the prompt legislation of the Delivery Price Linkage System. Chairman Kim said, "Delivery prices are directly connected to workers' wages and safe workplaces," and added, "With 36% of small and medium manufacturers being entrusted companies and 41.5% of workers employed there, receiving fair prices is essential for wage increases and workplace innovation."

CEO Kang also said, "Large corporations and SMEs form a complementary industrial ecosystem, but negotiations themselves are not taking place," and earnestly requested, "We ask the political sphere to judge fairly as an impartial referee in the negotiation between the stronger and weaker parties."

In response, Lee said, "The issue of delivery prices between SMEs and large corporations arises from social power imbalances and dominant-subordinate relationships," and added, "Since SMEs account for 99% of all companies and 88% of employment, their survival is crucial for economic vitality, quality jobs, and sustainable growth."

Furthermore, he promised to guarantee the rights of delivery subcontractors to form associations and engage in collective bargaining. Lee stated, "When social dominant-subordinate relationships and power imbalances are not balanced, the weaker parties should be allowed to unite and negotiate on equal footing with the stronger parties," adding, "We will accelerate the Delivery Price Linkage System to establish it as a single system and simultaneously continue to promote a system that recognizes the rights of SMEs and subcontractors to form associations and conduct collective bargaining."

The Democratic Party announced that it will first push for the bill's passage through the relevant standing committees, namely the Industry, Trade, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee and the Political Affairs Committee. After the meeting, lawmaker Kim Kyung-man told reporters, "The Special Committee on Livelihood Economy is handling this through bipartisan agreement, and many lawmakers from both sides have proposed coexistence laws and subcontracting laws, but only one discussion has taken place in the Special Committee, and no further progress has been made," adding, "If the Delivery Price Linkage System is not passed through bipartisan agreement within the activity period, we will pursue it in the Industry and Political Affairs Committees with the same determination as handling the Grain Management Act."

Regarding discussions with the government and ruling party, he said, "We requested the ruling party to explain the government proposal, but it has not yet arrived," and added, "The Minister of SMEs and Startups showed willingness to submit the government proposal to the National Assembly between late October and early November, so we will wait and see."

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