Hankyung Association "Regret over the Passage of the Labor Union Act Amendment in the National Assembly... Reconsideration Needed"

Concerns Over Labor-Management Conflicts and Expansion of Strikes

The Korea Economic Association expressed regret over the passage of the amendments to Articles 2 and 3 of the Labor Union Act in the National Assembly plenary session.

On the 9th, the Korea Economic Association stated, "Despite strong opposition from the business community, the amendments to the Labor Union Act were passed in the National Assembly plenary session," adding, "We deeply regret this."

The association argued, "The amendments expand the concept of employers, allowing subcontractor unions to engage in disputes against primary contractors, which poses a significant risk of collapsing the industrial ecosystem composed of numerous primary-subcontractor relationships," and "As the scope of labor disputes expands, labor-management conflicts will intensify, leading to frequent strikes."

It also predicted, "With the individualization of liability for damages, even if unions conduct illegal strikes, it will be practically difficult for employers to claim damages, making infringement on corporate property rights inevitable," and "The resulting damages will ultimately be passed on to shareholders, workers, and partner companies."

The Korea Economic Association holds the position that the amendments to the Labor Union Act should be reconsidered. The association requested, "With high inflation, high interest rates, and high exchange rates causing significant difficulties in corporate management," and "the amendments to the Labor Union Act, which encourage labor-management conflicts and strikes and would greatly undermine corporate competitiveness, must be comprehensively reviewed."

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