Six Months Until the Yellow Envelope Law... SME Sector Calls for Concrete Standards

SME Roundtable on Amendments to Articles 2 and 3 of the Trade Union Act
"Concrete Standards and Manuals Need to Be Supplemented"

The small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector has emphasized the need for concrete standards and manuals to be established before the implementation of the Yellow Envelope Law (Amendment to Articles 2 and 3 of the Trade Union Act).

On September 22, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups held a meeting at the Korea Federation of SMEs in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, to discuss this issue at the 'SME Roundtable on Amendments to Articles 2 and 3 of the Trade Union Act.' The meeting was organized so that the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Ministry of Employment and Labor could directly hear concerns and suggestions from the field ahead of the Yellow Envelope Law, which is scheduled to take effect in March next year. The event was attended by Minister Han Seong-sook of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the Director of Labor-Management Cooperation Policy at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, as well as representatives from SME associations, industry-specific cooperatives, and others.

Jung Heungjun, a professor at the Department of Venture Management at Seoul National University of Science and Technology, presented as a speaker and stressed the need to supplement concrete standards and manuals before the law is enforced. He pointed out that, as the main content of the bill expands the definition of 'employer' (Article 2, Item 2), the primary contractor's bargaining responsibility may increase in principal-subcontractor relationships, making clear standards necessary.

Industry representatives at the meeting also offered various opinions to help the system take root. Song Byungjun, Chairman of the Korea Venture Business Association, suggested, "With the remaining period before the revised law takes effect, tailored guidelines should be prepared, and venture and startup companies need to strengthen their capacity to respond to labor-management disputes." Kim Myungjin, Chairman of the Main-Biz Association, noted, "For service companies with complex contract structures, the scope of the employer is unclear, raising concerns about confusion in the field," and proposed that "these industry characteristics should be reflected in the manual development process."

In addition, Kwak Inhak, Chairman of the Korea Metal Panel Industry Cooperative, requested, "Please establish safeguards to ensure that the bargaining power of partner companies is not weakened during negotiations between the primary contractor and the union."

In response, Minister Han Seong-sook stated, "We will carefully review the opinions shared here today and work closely with the Ministry of Employment and Labor to minimize difficulties for SMEs during the implementation process." She added, "The government will actively support SMEs so that they are not discouraged by institutional changes, but instead, these changes will lead to the establishment of sound labor-management relations and the development of the industrial ecosystem." She continued, "Over the next six months before the law takes effect, we will thoroughly gather feedback from the field to ensure a smooth and stable implementation," and encouraged the SME sector to freely use the Ministry of SMEs and Startups as a communication channel at any time.

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