The National Assembly's Environment and Labor Committee (Environment and Labor Committee) processed the amendment to Articles 2 and 3 of the Trade Union Act (commonly known as the 'yellow envelope law') on the 28th under the leadership of the ruling party, the Democratic Party of Korea. Based on the original proposal that was subject to a veto by the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, the definition of 'labor disputes' was expanded, and the conditions for limiting damage claims were clarified. Depending on the ruling party's leadership's judgment, there is a possibility that the proposal could be processed at the plenary session on Aug. 4, the last day of the July extraordinary National Assembly.
On that day, around 8:55 p.m., the Environment and Labor Committee passed the amendment to the Trade Union Act with unanimous support from the Democratic Party of Korea and The Progressive Party members. Earlier that day, the Democratic Party of Korea coordinated opinions in a meeting with the Ministry of Employment and Labor, started reviewing the 'yellow envelope law' from 10 a.m. in the subcommittee of the Employment and Labor Bill Review Committee, decided on it around 7 p.m., and immediately convened a full meeting of the Environment and Labor Committee at around 8:10 p.m. to expedite the processing of the bill.
The amendment to Articles 2 and 3 of the Trade Union Act focuses on expanding the definition of 'employer' to strengthen the responsibility of primary companies for subcontracted workers and limiting corporations' damage claims against trade union activities. It passed through two plenary sessions of the National Assembly in Nov. 2023 and Aug. 2024 but was abandoned after a veto was exercised by the Yoon Suk-yeol administration. Since the launch of the Lee Jae-myung administration, the Democratic Party of Korea has stated its intention to swiftly promote the 'yellow envelope law' as one of the key livelihood legislations.
Recently, the government proposed opinions to extend the grace period for the law from the existing 6 months to 1 year, while shrinking the scope of recognizing labor disputes and clarifying elements to consider when calculating liability for damages. In response, labor groups and the progressive camp have strongly opposed it, calling it a 'regressive bill,' and the Democratic Party of Korea has prepared a modified proposal reflecting the opinions of both sides.
Members of the People Power Party in the Environment and Labor Committee protested against the ruling party's forceful processing of the bill during both the subcommittee and the full meeting, exiting the meeting room. Kim Hyung-dong, the People Power Party's opposition secretary, stated before the bill was voted that 'calling the session on Monday right after the president's remark is a commissioned legislation,' asserting that 'there has been a history of labor and management bringing an agreement and legislating it, but that has collapsed as of today.' He requested delaying the processing of the bill to discuss it once more for an agreement between the parties.
The Democratic Party of Korea reacted against the opposition's claim of unilateral processing. Lee Yong-woo, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, said, 'I hope we find a consensus through the vigorous discussions in the subcommittee today. We found consensus on over 90% regarding Article 3, but regarding Article 2, the People Power Party stated it was difficult to discuss and exited. Then, how can it be said that the Democratic Party unilaterally processed it?' He added, 'We were able to find common ground acceptable to both labor and management. The People Power Party missed the opportunity.'
The amendment passed by the Environment and Labor Committee clarified the definition of 'labor disputes' from the existing proposal.
Specifically, the existing proposal states that 'a labor dispute refers to a state of dispute arising from a disagreement over working conditions such as wages, working hours, welfare, dismissal, and other treatment between a trade union and an employer or employer organization.' The amendment includes 'the status of workers' and 'management decisions affecting working conditions' as well as 'clear violations of collective agreements by employers.' This clearly indicates that management decisions like restructuring and outsourcing could also be subject to disputes regarding labor conditions.
It also specified the limit on damage claims in Article 3. The current law stipulates immunity for damages resulting from 'legitimate labor actions,' while the amendment restricts damage claims across all trade union activities and specifies that unions and members are not liable for damages when responding to employers' illegal acts. This aligns with the previous proposal which was discarded after a veto was exercised by the Yoon Suk-yeol administration.
In the past, even if courts recognized liability for damages against individual union members, the existing proposal would have required determining the range of responsibility based on each liable party. In this amendment, the criteria for judgment have been clarified to consider the 'status within the union,' 'degree of participation in the labor action,' 'degree of involvement in causing damage,' and 'wage level.'
Additionally, a provision was newly established prohibiting employers from claiming damages for the 'purpose of obstructing union operations' and allowing courts to request reductions in the amount of damages. Courts will determine whether to grant such reductions by considering the economic situation of the party liable for damages and their dependents. This aims to reduce the actual burden on workers participating in disputes.
The Democratic Party of Korea plans to pass the yellow envelope law at the plenary session on Aug. 4. However, given that contentious bills such as the three broadcasting laws and amendments to the Commercial Act are also planned to be presented at the plenary session on Aug. 4, there is a possibility that the processing timing will be pushed to the August extraordinary National Assembly. The People Power Party has indicated that they will filibuster each contentious bill, necessitating at least 24 hours for each bill to lift the filibuster.
Kim Joo-young, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea and secretary of the Environment and Labor Committee, met with reporters after the full meeting and remarked on the timing of processing the amendment, saying, 'I think (the leadership) will try to align. It's beyond my authority,' while adding, 'Since it's been done in the committee, I hope it gets processed quickly.'