On the 20th, President Lee Jae-myung said, "The three labor rights exist to protect workers, who are socially disadvantaged, and a very important principle of solidarity and responsibility operates there," adding, "It was not meant to grant the force to collectively push through something solely for the benefit of an individual or a few people." Although no specific target was named, the remarks appear to refer to the Samsung Electronics union's statement that it would proceed with a general strike as scheduled.
In the afternoon, at Cheong Wa Dae, Lee presided over a Cabinet meeting and said, "The reason for allowing assemblies, including the right to collective action, the right to organize, and the right to bargain, is to guarantee individual human rights and ensure a free order for society as a whole, but it must not be abused in a way that inflicts serious pain on someone beyond an appropriate line." Lee also said, "The three labor rights are a constitutional device to achieve a balance of power for the disadvantaged so as to maintain an appropriate social balance."
Aiming in particular at the Samsung Electronics union, Lee said, "It is good that some unions are engaging in collective bargaining through the right to organize and the right to collective action and working to achieve their interests, but I think there is also an appropriate line." Lee continued, "Distributing profits from operating profit is what investors do. That is what shareholders do," adding, "Institutionally sharing a fixed percentage of operating profit before taxes is something even investors cannot do. Investors receive dividends from net income after taxes, so I do not understand it."