The Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise (KFME) said on the 27th that at the "2026 Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise regular general meeting," it adopted a resolution urging the government and the National Assembly to halt the enactment of the "basic law for working people" now being pursued, and that it will launch a public signature campaign to block the bill's passage.
Through the resolution that day, federation members strongly warned that "7.9 million micro business owners are already standing at the brink of closure amid the triple hardships of high inflation, high interest rates, and high labor costs and sluggish domestic demand," and that "the 'basic law for working people' being pushed in this situation will lead to reduced employment in the micro business sector and become a 'job-destroying policy' that wrecks the economic ecosystem."
The federation noted that if the bill passes, there is a high possibility that amendments to the Labor Standards Act and related regulations will be pursued as follow-up legislation. In particular, the federation expressed concern that the result could lead to an "expansion of Labor Standards Act application to business sites with fewer than five employees."
According to the federation's estimate, if special employment workers and freelancers are recognized as employees under the law, the additional statutory expense micro business owners would have to bear would reach about 420,000 won per person per month on average and about 5.05 million won per year, based on the minimum wage. This exceeds 20% of the average operating profit of 25 million won for micro businesses shown in the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' 2023 fact-finding survey.
The federation argued that "if severance pay application is added, micro business owners will reach an unbearable level, and ultimately a 'jobs cliff' and 'chain bankruptcies,' in which local jobs disappear, will become a reality."
The federation called on the government and the National Assembly to: ▲ immediately halt discussions on enacting the "basic law for working people," which does not reflect the reality of micro business owners ▲ withdraw the policy of "expanding Labor Standards Act application to business sites with fewer than five employees," which threatens the livelihood of small micro business owners ▲ and prepare practical measures to ease the management burden on micro business owners. It also officially declared a "public signature campaign against the enactment of the basic law for working people." The federation plans to carry out a large-scale signature drive centered on organizations by industry and region.
Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise (KFME) President Song Chi-young said, "A bill intended to protect workers could instead shrink jobs for micro business owners and the working-class economy," adding, "We will unite the will of micro business owners nationwide to carry out a signature campaign against the bill's passage and take all possible actions to block its enactment."
At the federation's regular general meeting held that day, agenda items such as the 2025 business report and settlement of account and the 2026 business plan and budget bill were approved.