President's Office Emphasizes 'Principle'... Yoon Plans to Veto 3rd Yellow Envelope Act

Message in State Council Speech
Yoon "Restoring Rule of Law is the Task"
"Delivered 'Principle' Through Two Events"
Concerns Over 'Closed-off Image' After Consecutive Vetoes

President Yoon Suk-yeol is expected to exercise his veto power on the 'Yellow Envelope Act' (Amendment to the Labor Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act). This is based on the judgment that the amendment itself has a high risk of unconstitutionality and that the parliamentary deliberation process was insufficient, causing public conflict. The presidential office explained that since vetoes were exercised on the Grain Management Act and the Nursing Act for the same reasons, the final decision based on law and principles is unlikely to change.

On the previous day (the 24th), the Democratic Party of Korea and the Justice Party processed the agenda for direct submission of the Yellow Envelope Act to the plenary session solely by the opposition party at the National Assembly's Environment and Labor Committee. With unanimous consent from 10 opposition members, the bill, after 8 months since its proposal, is now heading straight to the plenary session, where it will be discussed after about 30 days of consensus-building.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

While the presidential office refrains from an official stance, it conveyed that the national governance policy of 'law and principles' will remain steadfast. A senior official from the presidential office stated, "We hope that a consensus will be reached during the remaining month in the National Assembly," adding, "We believe that the principles of the president and government were accurately communicated to the public during the two previous veto exercises."

They also explained that the answer lies in the principle conveyed by President Yoon at the Cabinet meeting two days ago. On the 23rd, President Yoon personally presided over the Cabinet meeting and expressed that establishing liberal democracy and the rule of law is a challenge that Global Korea must address. He strongly criticized the illegal demonstrations by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), stating, "Acts that infringe on the people's freedom and fundamental rights and undermine public order will be difficult for the public to tolerate."

The government shares the same judgment. The bill includes provisions allowing subcontractor unions to negotiate directly with the primary contractor and limits the employer's claim for damages if there were no illegal acts or violence during strikes. However, it is said that, as a result, some parts conflict with other laws. A representative example is the potential nullification of compensation for illegal acts stipulated in the Civil Act. The government also plans to recommend President Yoon exercise his veto power based on this logic.

Within the presidential office, there are criticisms that the opposition's strategy for the general election is to induce repeated vetoes to label the president as 'uncommunicative,' alongside concerns about the burden on the president due to continuous vetoes. Starting with the veto of the Grain Management Act amendment in early April, there is a risk that vetoes could be exercised every month.

However, the presidential office, government, and ruling party do not have many options. If no consensus is reached between the ruling and opposition parties during the remaining month, the only remaining method is legal action such as filing a constitutional review. The ruling party leadership has requested a constitutional review, arguing that the Yellow Envelope Act was still under review by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and therefore does not meet the requirements for direct submission to the plenary session.

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