On the First Day of the Yellow Envelope Act, Even Major Corporations Are Shaken... Industry on High Alert Over Samsung Union's 'Excessive Struggle'

Samsung Union Escalates Struggle

Tension Spreads Amid Implementation of the Yellow Envelope Act

Concerns Grow Over Production Disruptions in Subcontracting Structures

The Joint Struggle Headquarters of the Samsung Electronics Labor Union began a vote on March 9 to secure the right to strike, aiming for a "May general strike," and has been ramping up its confrontational stance against management each day. Recently, through a YouTube video, the union announced, "If there are employees working for the company, we will keep a list and prioritize notifying them in the event of forced transfers or dismissals that may require later discussions with the union," effectively pressuring those not participating in the strike with a so-called "blacklist" and threatening them with disadvantages. The union also revealed detailed plans for further action, such as introducing a reward system for reporting employees who cooperate with management and occupying offices around the clock.

The union has been fueling support for the strike by presenting its own calculations, claiming, "If a strike occurs, the company will suffer 10 trillion won in losses, while employees' losses will amount to 400 billion won." The business and labor communities have criticized these actions as clear cases of "excessive struggle," going beyond the exercise of legitimate rights. In particular, the introduction of a system that treats employees who cooperate with management as if they were criminals and offers rewards for reporting them, as well as plans to occupy offices 24 hours a day, have been described as unprecedented and intimidating approaches rarely seen in modern labor-management relations.

With the implementation of the so-called "Yellow Envelope Act" (Amendment to Articles 2 and 3 of the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act) on March 10, tension is mounting across the entire industry. The scope of labor disputes has expanded, including strengthened responsibilities of primary contractors for subcontracted workers, but companies' ability to claim damages against striking workers is now restricted. As companies can no longer hold workers accountable for strike-related damages, the labor-management dispute environment is quickly worsening.

The prevailing interpretation is that the unprecedentedly aggressive tactics emerging at Samsung Electronics are largely influenced by the Yellow Envelope Act, which took effect on this day. With the ability for companies to claim damages for strike-related losses now practically limited, unions are employing bold tactics such as "office occupation" and "blacklist management" without fear of legal liability.

The legal community believes these union actions may clearly constitute violations of the law. Forcing participation in the strike by threatening personnel disadvantages for non-participants may be considered an "unfair labor practice" as well as "coercion and intimidation" under the Criminal Act. The Joint Struggle Headquarters stated, "When the union proclaims a dispute period and orders a work stoppage, union members are supposed to follow union instructions, but group leaders and team leaders may try to force employees to work," adding, "These measures are intended to protect union members from unfair labor practices and employer interference." They further explained that "office occupation and similar actions are last-resort measures, and other company unions conducting strikes are taking similar approaches."

The tension in labor relations currently facing Samsung Electronics is spreading across the industry. In sectors such as automotive, shipbuilding, and construction, which have entrenched multi-tiered subcontracting structures, production disruptions are expected to occur immediately. In the automotive industry, where dozens or tens of thousands of parts suppliers work with primary contractors, there is talk that strikes by subcontractor unions demanding direct negotiation with the primary contractor could escalate into supply chain-wide strikes. In the shipbuilding and steel industries, if key facilities such as docks and blast furnaces are occupied, the scale of losses due to production shutdowns could increase significantly. Disputes may also be prolonged as unions make demands for direct employment or improved working conditions from primary contractors.

On the afternoon of the 9th, one day before the enforcement of the Yellow Envelope Act (Amendment to Articles 2 and 3 of the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act), participants performed at a press conference declaring the struggle for primary negotiation of the Public Transport Union held in front of the Seoul Employment and Labor Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News.

Companies are particularly concerned that disputes may arise in areas such as investment in new industries like electric vehicles and robotics or even during restructuring, and that labor-management conflict could increase overall management uncertainty. This is because workers may go on strike, claiming that new technologies such as robots and artificial intelligence (AI) introduced during factory automation threaten their status. In January, the labor union of Hyundai Motor Group protested, stating that the humanoid robot "Atlas" could not be introduced into company factories without labor-management agreement.

In fact, the labor community is preparing to demand large-scale negotiations and actions against primary contractors with the enforcement of the Yellow Envelope Act. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions estimates that in about 900 workplaces, 140,000 union members will demand collective bargaining with primary contractors. Since January, the Metalworkers' Union of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions has sent official bargaining requests to major primary contractors such as Hyundai Motor, Hanwha Ocean, Hyundai Steel, and Hyundai Mobis. The labor community plans to use the implementation of the Yellow Envelope Act as an opportunity to revitalize industry-wide collective bargaining.

The business community, led by the Korea Employers Federation, has responded by preparing support systems for collective bargaining, but there is a general sense that there are no immediate solutions. Park Jongcheol, president of the Woori Management Research Institute, said, "There are ambiguous aspects in interpreting the legal provisions, so confusion is expected until the courts issue their first rulings," adding, "In the early stages of enforcement, both labor and management are likely to take a wait-and-see approach."

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