Tomorrow's Yellow Envelope Act Vote in the National Assembly... Government, Ruling Party, and Business Community Urge "Withdrawal"

Opposition to Push for Passage of Nobo Law at Plenary Session on 9th
Business Community: "Will Severely Restrict Management Activities"
Ruling Party Filibuster... Likely to Demand Presidential Veto

Amid plans by opposition parties, including the Democratic Party of Korea, to forcibly pass the so-called 'Yellow Envelope Act (Labor Union Act Articles 2 and 3)' limiting damages against labor unions at the National Assembly plenary session on the 9th, voices of opposition are rising from the ruling party and business circles. The ruling party intends to use a filibuster (unlimited debate) to block the bill if it is submitted to the plenary session, but the Democratic Party plans to forcibly end the filibuster through a vote and then pass the bill.

On the 8th, the government and ruling party simultaneously urged the suspension of the legislative push for the Yellow Envelope Act. Hong Seok-jun, head of the Regulatory Reform Promotion Team of the People Power Party, held a press conference with six economic organizations at the National Assembly that morning and criticized, "Although the Constitutional Court recently dismissed the constitutional complaint regarding the procedural handling of the Labor Union Act, this was not a judgment on the substantive content of the amendment. The amendment includes anti-rule-of-law content that seeks to protect even illegal strikes by law."

Hong also emphasized, "If the Yellow Envelope Act passes, it is clear that illegal activities by labor unions will increase, corporate activities will be restrained, and our country's industrial sites, already suffering from adversarial labor-management relations, will fall into further chaos." The six economic organizations also opposed the bill, stating, "In a situation where multiple criminal penalties exist for employers under the Labor Union Act, the abstract concept of 'employer' will turn our businesspeople into potential criminals and severely restrict management activities."

The six economic organizations, including the Korea Employers Federation, Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Korea International Trade Association, Korea Economic Association, Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business, and Korea Federation of Medium-sized Enterprises, pointed out at the National Assembly press conference that "The amendment effectively prevents claims for damages even if labor unions commit illegal acts," and "the industrial sites will suffer from labor disputes and illegal acts throughout the year."

They continued, "The amendment will destroy our labor-management relations, shake the industrial ecosystem to its roots, and threaten jobs for future generations," appealing, "The National Assembly must stop pushing for legislation now to prevent the collapse of the country's companies and economy."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The government also requested the opposition to withdraw their plan to push the bill. On the same day, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho said at an emergency economic ministers' meeting and export investment countermeasures meeting held at the Government Complex Seoul, "We earnestly request the withdrawal of the submission and passage of the Labor Union Act amendment, which requires more in-depth discussion in the National Assembly plenary session," adding, "The amendment has a high possibility of violating the Constitution and Civil Code and could regress the basic framework of our labor-management relations that have been painstakingly built."

The Democratic Party and the Justice Party declared that they would pass the Yellow Envelope Act and the Broadcasting 3 Acts, which the ruling party strongly opposes, at the plenary session on the 9th. Although the bills were directly referred to the plenary session solely by the opposition in May, and the Speaker of the National Assembly, Kim Jin-pyo, prioritized negotiations between the ruling and opposition parties, resulting in the bills not being submitted to the plenary session, this time Speaker Kim is reportedly in agreement with submitting the bills. Since the number of seats exceeds the majority, if the bills are submitted to the plenary session, they can be passed.

The People Power Party plans to mount an all-out effort to block the bills through a filibuster (unlimited debate). First- and second-term lawmakers are required to participate, and applications from other lawmakers wishing to speak have been accepted. Twenty lawmakers, including Im I-ja, the ruling party's whip on the National Assembly Environment and Labor Committee, will participate in the debate opposing the Yellow Envelope Act.

The Democratic Party plans to forcibly end the filibuster through a vote to agree to termination. According to the National Assembly Act, if more than one-third of the total members request the Speaker, after 24 hours, the filibuster can be ended with the approval of more than three-fifths of the total members. Currently, there are 298 seats, so the Democratic Party must secure 179 votes, which is three-fifths, to forcibly end the filibuster. If debates and termination votes occur at 24-hour intervals for both the Yellow Envelope Act and the Broadcasting 3 Acts, the bills are expected to pass around the 13th.

However, the People Power Party plans to request President Yoon Seok-yeol to exercise his veto power (request for reconsideration) if the Yellow Envelope Act passes. When reporters asked Yoon Jae-ok, floor leader of the People Power Party, at the National Assembly the previous day whether they would recommend the President to exercise the reconsideration right if the Yellow Envelope Act and Broadcasting Act pass, he replied, "Yes, we intend to recommend it." Previously, the ruling party emphasized that the Yellow Envelope Act and Broadcasting 3 Acts are laws that "cannot help but require veto power."

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