10 Years of Yellow Envelope Law Disputes... Repeated 'Opposition Passage → Ruling Party Veto'?

First Half of the 20th and 21st National Assembly Also Failed During Moon Administration
Han Dong-hoon "Political Strikes Will Hinder Progress"
Jin Seong-jun "A Livelihood Bill Protecting Labor Rights"

The unlimited debate (filibuster) on the amendment to Articles 2 and 3 of the Labor Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act (Yellow Envelope Act), which began on the 2nd, ended after 31 hours due to the automatic expiration of the July extraordinary session of the National Assembly. The main opposition party will proceed to a vote in the plenary session of the National Assembly on the afternoon of the 5th. If the main opposition party passes the Yellow Envelope Act again in the 22nd National Assembly following the 21st, it is expected that the government will exercise its right to request reconsideration (veto) once more. The ruling and opposition parties have been engaged in disputes over the Yellow Envelope Act for the past 10 years.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Moon Administration’s Deputy Minister of Employment also says "Many provisions shake principles"... Revived by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering strike

The Yellow Envelope Act became a contentious issue between the ruling and opposition parties starting from the 19th National Assembly during the Park Geun-hye administration. In November 2013, a court ruled for about 4.7 billion KRW in damages against workers laid off from Ssangyong Motor who participated in a strike, and a citizen sent a letter with an envelope containing 47,000 KRW to a media outlet, which became the trigger.

During the 20th National Assembly, when the Moon Jae-in administration, which had pledged the Yellow Envelope Act as a campaign promise, took office, a similar bill was proposed but was not discussed and disappeared. In the first half of the 21st National Assembly, Park Hwa-jin, then Deputy Minister of Employment and Labor, mentioned that the Yellow Envelope Act contained "many special provisions that shake principles." Later, in August 2022, the Democratic Party’s efforts to pass the Yellow Envelope Act became active following a strike by subcontractor unions at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering. At that time, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering filed about 47 billion KRW in damages against five members of the subcontractor union’s executive committee. This sparked calls to prevent excessive damage claims by companies against workers, leading the Democratic Party to include the Yellow Envelope Act among its seven legislative tasks.

Ruling Party: "Will Block South Korea’s Development" vs Opposition: "A Livelihood Bill to Protect Labor Rights"

In February last year, the Democratic Party passed the Yellow Envelope Act unilaterally in the Environment and Labor Committee and directly submitted it to the plenary session of the National Assembly. On November 9 of the same year, with members of the People Power Party walking out, the bill passed the plenary session with 173 votes in favor and 1 abstention, but President Yoon exercised his veto on December 1. The Yellow Envelope Act was not enacted during the 21st National Assembly.

In the 22nd National Assembly, opposition members of the Environment and Labor Committee unilaterally passed a strengthened version of the Yellow Envelope Act in the subcommittee. In response, ruling party members requested the bill be referred to the Agenda Coordination Committee (ACC), which can adjust contentious issues through debate. Despite about two and a half hours of ACC discussion, the ruling and opposition parties failed to reach an agreement, and the opposition passed the Yellow Envelope Act in the full Environment and Labor Committee and the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. The bill is highly likely to pass in the plenary session held that day through a vote solely by the opposition.

The Yellow Envelope Act focuses on limiting companies’ claims for damages against striking workers and strengthening the primary contractor’s responsibility for subcontracted workers. Han Dong-hoon, leader of the People Power Party, clearly opposed the bill at the party’s highest council meeting that day, saying, "It will greatly increase the leverage for unions to engage in political strikes, directly blocking South Korea’s upward development." On the other hand, Jin Seong-jun, policy chief of the Democratic Party, expressed determination to pass the bill at a policy coordination meeting on the 1st, calling it "a livelihood bill to practically protect labor rights."

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