Minister of Employment Makes Stern Remarks Ahead of Environment and Labor Committee Meeting: "Yellow Envelope Act Undermines the Foundation of the Rule of Law"

Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jeong-sik is briefing on the "Amendment to the Labor Union Act and the Labor Relations Adjustment Act" at the Government Seoul Office Building on the 20th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Lee Jeong-sik, Minister of Employment and Labor, recently described the 'Yellow Envelope Act' (Amendment to the Labor Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act), which passed the subcommittee of the National Assembly's Environment and Labor Committee, as "legislation that undermines the foundation of the rule of law," emphasizing that "if passed, it will excessively protect illegal actions by certain labor unions."

On the 20th, Minister Lee held a briefing at the Government Seoul Office and stated, "This amendment to the Labor Union Act was pushed forward without sufficient consideration of conflicts with the Constitution, Civil Code, and overall labor-management relations and legal systems."

The Yellow Envelope Act aims to limit indiscriminate claims for damages by companies against striking workers and was led by the Democratic Party of Korea and the Justice Party, passing sequentially through the Environment and Labor Committee subcommittee and the agenda coordination committee. It is scheduled to be submitted to the full Environment and Labor Committee meeting on the 21st.

Minister Lee pointed out that the amendment lacks legal stability and predictability, thus undermining the foundation of the rule of law.

He said, "The amendment imposes all obligations under the Labor Union Act on the primary contractors, who do not have an employment contract relationship, through abstract expressions," adding, "However, since the criteria to determine whether they are employers are not specified, the primary contractors cannot predict whether they are the counterpart in collective bargaining with subcontractor unions or the scope of collective bargaining."

He continued, "In such circumstances, if the employer does not respond to collective bargaining, they will be subject to criminal punishment, which violates the principle of clarity under the rule of law," emphasizing, "If the Labor Union Act is amended, it will only cause confusion on the ground, such as prolonged collective bargaining, chaos in the bargaining system, and an increase in judicial disputes."

In particular, Minister Lee expressed concern that if the Yellow Envelope Act passes, the strike absolutism of large labor unions could further spread.

He said, "If the amendment passes, the scope of labor disputes and lawful strikes will expand to areas that should be resolved through judicial judgment," adding, "At a time when the nation is establishing a stable labor-management relationship, there is a high risk of reverting to past confrontational and combative labor relations."

He further stated, "It is not appropriate in the legal system to stipulate significant exceptions to liability for illegal acts in the Labor Union Act, and it will result in protecting perpetrators more than victims of illegal acts," pointing out, "It also violates fairness with other joint tortfeasors and will excessively protect illegal acts of some labor unions."

Minister Lee said, "Existing large corporations and regular worker unions will be further protected through the expansion of the scope of legitimate dispute actions and exceptions to the principle of damages for illegal acts," adding, "This inevitably reduces job opportunities for future generations, such as youth, amid a chain of side effects including the relocation of domestic companies overseas, difficulties in attracting foreign investment, and job losses."

The proposed amendments to Articles 2 and 3 of the Labor Union Act, which are to be submitted to the full committee meeting, include expanding the definition of employers, broadening the scope of labor dispute actions, specifying the scope of damages, and exempting guarantors from liability for compensation. The Democratic Party plans to pass the amendment at the full Environment and Labor Committee meeting and forward it to the Legislation and Judiciary Committee.

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