SME Sector "Regrets National Assembly Passage of Yellow Envelope Act"... Requests Veto from Yoon

Ruling Party and Opposition Pass Bill Alone
"Will Cause Workers to Lose Jobs," Criticism Arises

The small and medium-sized enterprise sector expressed regret on the 9th over the passage of the so-called 'Yellow Envelope Act' at the National Assembly plenary session. Along with this, they requested President Yoon Seok-yeol to exercise his right to request a reconsideration of the law (veto power).

On the 9th, the partial amendment to the Labor Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act was passed at the plenary session held at the National Assembly. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

The Korea Federation of SMEs issued a statement on the day, saying, "We deeply regret that the opposition party forcibly passed the amendment to the Labor Union and Labor Relations Act by accepting only the unilateral opinions of the labor sector."

Earlier, the opposition parties, including the Democratic Party of Korea, unilaterally passed the Yellow Envelope Act at the plenary session, which strengthens the responsibility of the original contractors for subcontracted workers and limits companies' indiscriminate claims for damages against striking workers. The bill was approved with 173 votes in favor and 1 abstention out of 174 participants.

In response, the Korea Federation of SMEs criticized, "The indiscriminate expansion of the concept of employers due to this amendment to the Labor Union Act has increased the likelihood that original contractors will sever transactions with domestic partner companies or relocate overseas. This will lead to the bankruptcy of domestic small and medium-sized partner companies, resulting in the hollowing out of domestic industries and ultimately causing job losses for workers employed by SMEs."

Furthermore, the Korea Federation of SMEs pointed out, "Due to the provisions limiting the right to claim damages, even if labor unions carry out illegal assemblies, companies will lose the means to defend themselves, further tilting the playing field in favor of the labor sector. This will lead to the spread of illegal strikes and unreasonable labor disputes, causing social unrest and increased uncertainty, deeply wounding the domestic economy."

The Korea Federation of SMEs also criticized, "The damage caused by labor disputes and illegal acts will affect not only companies but also non-union workers who wish to continue working and union members who do not participate in strikes. National competitiveness will be severely undermined, and domestic companies and the economy will collapse, which is deeply concerning."

Finally, the Korea Federation of SMEs emphasized, "With our last hope, we earnestly appeal for the exercise of the presidential right to request reconsideration in accordance with the Constitution to prevent the destruction of the rule of law guaranteed by the free democratic order of the Republic of Korea."

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