Democratic Party Welcomes Passage of Yellow Envelope Act... Jung Cheongrae: "A Historic Achievement"

Kim Byungki of the Ruling Party: "A Milestone for the Three Labor Rights"
Cho Kuk of the Rebuilding Korea Party Also Says, "Deeply Moved"

After the Yellow Envelope Act (the amendment to Articles 2 and 3 of the Trade Union Act), which had been vetoed twice by the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, passed the National Assembly plenary session, Democratic Party lawmakers collectively expressed their welcome.

Yonhap News

At the Democratic Party general assembly held at the National Assembly in Yeouido on the 24th, Democratic Party leader Jung Chungrae stated, "We have passed a law that has long been awaited by the labor community and is necessary at the workplace," adding, "The process had been delayed until now due to Yoon Suk-yeol's exercise of his veto, but I believe we have accomplished something historic." The general assembly was held immediately after the Yellow Envelope Act passed the plenary session of the National Assembly.

The core of the newly passed Yellow Envelope Act is to expand the scope of employers, thereby strengthening the responsibility of primary contractors for subcontractors, and to broaden the scope of legitimate labor disputes to include 'determination of working conditions' and 'business management decisions that affect working conditions.' President Yoon Suk-yeol exercised his veto against the Yellow Envelope Act after it passed the National Assembly plenary session twice, in December 2023 and August last year.

Kim Byungki, Democratic Party floor leader, also wrote on Facebook, "This is a historic moment that elevates the three labor rights guaranteed by the Constitution to a higher level," and added, "It was possible thanks to the support and unity of the people. Thank you."

Floor leader Kim explained, "This law does not unilaterally favor either labor or management," and described it as "a bill that will bring peace to industrial sites." He went on to say, "With this amendment, I hope that we can move beyond extreme confrontation and open the path to dialogue and compromise," emphasizing, "I believe that improving the labor environment will also enhance corporate competitiveness."

Seo Youngseok, another Democratic Party lawmaker, also posted on Facebook, "After a long wait, a legal foundation has been established to protect the three labor rights guaranteed by the Constitution," and said, "This is a significant change that guarantees subcontracted workers the right to negotiate confidently with the actual employer, the primary contractor, and frees them from the suffering caused by excessive damage claims and provisional seizures."

Assemblyman Seo pledged, "Labor rights are not a privilege but a basic right that everyone should enjoy," and added, "The Democratic Party will not become complacent with today's achievement."

The Cho Kuk Innovation Party also expressed its support. Cho Kuk, chairman of the Innovation Policy Research Committee of the Cho Kuk Innovation Party, wrote on Facebook, "It is deeply moving, as I served as co-representative of the civic group 'Sonjapgo' advocating for this law's enactment as a professor 11 years ago."

Jung Chunsaeng, policy committee chair of the Cho Kuk Innovation Party, commented, "This will be the starting point for true labor-management coexistence." However, he added, "The labor union law passed today is not enough," and said, "The Cho Kuk Innovation Party will continue to push for follow-up legislation on remaining tasks, including the 'presumption of worker status' clause that was not included this time." This refers to provisions expanding union rights for platform workers, freelancers, and specially employed workers, which were not included in the current bill.

Meanwhile, the People Power Party emphasized the concerns of the business community and called for bipartisan agreement before the bill passed the National Assembly. Yoon Sanghyun, a lawmaker from the People Power Party, said, "What the National Assembly should do is not push through, but find alternatives and build consensus," and earnestly appealed, "For the future of Korea and the jobs of our children, I sincerely hope that both the ruling and opposition parties will continue to seek consensus until the end."

Kim Eunhye, senior deputy floor leader of the People Power Party, labeled the Yellow Envelope Act as a "law for privileged unions," stating, "Once again, the cries of powerless and sorrowful citizens are drowned out by the cheers of powerful, privileged unions, and I can only feel sorry for their pain."

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