Passage of 'Yellow Envelope Act and Broadcasting 3 Laws' in Plenary Session Amid Absence of Opposition (Comprehensive 2)

People Power Party Cancels Filibuster and Walks Out

The ruling party and government strongly opposed the Yellow Envelope Act (Amendment to the Labor Union and Labor Relations Act) and the Three Broadcasting Laws (Amendments to the Broadcasting Act, the Broadcasting Culture Promotion Act, and the Korea Educational Broadcasting System Act), but these bills passed the National Assembly plenary session on the 9th. The opposition party processed the bills alone while the People Power Party collectively walked out in protest of the vote.

The Yellow Envelope Act was passed in the plenary session with 174 members voting, 173 in favor and 1 abstention. The bill strengthens the responsibility of primary contractors for subcontracted workers and limits excessive damage claims by companies against striking workers. It was proposed following last year's case where Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering won a lawsuit for damages caused by a subcontracted labor union strike, resulting in the subcontracted union bearing hundreds of billions of won in damages.

The Democratic Party forcibly processed the bill in the National Assembly's Environment and Labor Committee in February this year, and when it was delayed for a long time in the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, they directly submitted it to the plenary session in May and passed it a month later.

However, the ruling party expressed concerns that the Yellow Envelope Act could encourage illegal strikes and filed a constitutional dispute with the Constitutional Court. But on the 26th of last month, the Constitutional Court dismissed the plaintiff's claim, ruling that the direct submission of the Yellow Envelope Act to the plenary session was valid, prompting the opposition party to forcibly process it again on this day. The People Power Party collectively walked out and did not participate in the vote.

On the 9th, members of the People Power Party are leaving the plenary session held in the National Assembly main chamber. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Jeong Cheong-rae, a Supreme Council member of the Democratic Party, said to reporters after the passage of the Yellow Envelope Act, "The Yellow Envelope Act is a long-standing demand of the labor community" and "It has great historical significance." He evaluated, "It is an important law that guarantees workers' rights to organize and strike, thereby improving the quality of life for our workers."

Hong Ik-pyo, the floor leader of the Democratic Party, also said at the same venue, "I think a very meaningful law has passed," and emphasized, "Again, the Yellow Envelope Act is not a law that induces strikes or is for labor unions, but a human rights bill that extends a hand to those whose basic rights or lives are on the edge." Hong added, "In that regard, President Yoon Seok-yeol should not exercise a veto on this bill again," and requested, "I ask the government and ruling party to approach this with an open attitude."

The Justice Party also welcomed the passage of the Yellow Envelope Act in the plenary session and urged the government and ruling party to "give up on cunning veto exercises." The Justice Party said about the Yellow Envelope Act, "It has been 20 years since the self-immolation of Baedalho, a martyr of Doosan Heavy Industries who resisted a 6.5 billion won provisional seizure for damages in 2003," and urged the passage of the bill, saying, "We can neither wait any longer nor delay it."

Along with the Yellow Envelope Act, the Three Broadcasting Laws also passed.

On the 9th, the partial amendment bill to the Broadcasting Culture Promotion Act (alternative) was passed at the plenary session of the National Assembly. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

The amendments focus on restructuring the governance of public broadcasters such as KBS, MBC, and EBS. The amendment to the Broadcasting Act was passed with all 176 members present voting in favor, the amendment to the Broadcasting Culture Promotion Act was passed with all 175 members present voting in favor, and the amendment to the Korea Educational Broadcasting System Act was passed with all 176 members present voting in favor. Members of the ruling People Power Party also did not participate in the vote on these bills.

Earlier, the Democratic Party passed a resolution demanding the plenary session to consider the Three Broadcasting Laws, accusing the Legislation and Judiciary Committee chaired by Kim Do-eup of the People Power Party of delaying the processing of these bills. The People Power Party, which opposed the direct submission and forced processing of the bills, initially prepared a filibuster (unlimited debate to legally obstruct proceedings), but walked out when the bills were placed on the plenary session agenda.

Yoon Jae-ok, the floor leader of the People Power Party, told reporters after a party meeting, "Our party decided not to filibuster." He said, "We ask the public to understand and support that we had no choice but to give up the filibuster to prevent the Democratic Party’s bad political intention to impeach the chairman of the Korea Communications Commission and paralyze the functions of the national agency for a long time."

Meanwhile, the business community, which had urged the suspension of the Yellow Envelope Act legislation, is expected to recommend that the president exercise a veto following the passage of the bill led by the Democratic Party.

The day before, six economic organizations including the Korea Employers Federation, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Korea Economic Association, the Korea International Trade Association, the Korea Federation of SMEs, and the Korea Federation of Medium-sized Enterprises issued a joint statement at the National Assembly communication office urging the suspension of the Yellow Envelope Act legislation. The six economic organizations said, "If the amendment passes, the industrial field will fall into extreme confusion, and companies will not be able to conduct business normally," and added, "Despite these appeals, we cannot help but feel devastated that the opposition party is forcing the bill through with majority power." Lee Dong-geun, the full-time vice chairman of the Korea Employers Federation, mentioned, "If the bill is forcibly processed in the National Assembly, we plan to recommend that the president exercise the veto (reconsideration request) on the amendment to the Labor Union Act."

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