Yoon vetoes cash handout, pro-labor bills

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday endorsed Cabinet motions demanding parliamentary reconsideration of two opposition-led bills, one of them calling for cash handouts to the entire population and the other restricting companies from strike-related damage claims.

It marked the 10th time that Yoon has exercised his veto power since taking office in 2022, and a total of 21 bills have been rejected as the cycle has repeated over and over again of the opposition-controlled National Assembly unilaterally passing contentious legislation and Yoon rejecting it.

The latest bills are also expected to be ultimately scrapped in revotes because two-thirds support is necessary to override Yoon’s veto and the ruling People Power Party holds just a little more than one-third of the Assembly seats.

One of the two bills calls for providing handouts of between 250,000 won (US$182) and 350,000 won to the entire population, while the other bill, known as the “yellow envelope bill,” seeks to limit companies from making damage claims against workers during legitimate disputes.

Presidential spokesperson Jeong Hye-jeon said Yoon vetoed the two bills, which were unilaterally passed by the main opposition Democratic Party earlier this month, sending them back to the National Assembly for revotes.

The presidential office said the cash handout bill contains “unconstitutional” elements because it would compel the government to issue bonds worth 13 trillion won to fund the scheme, thereby infringing on the executive branch’s constitutional authority over budgetary matters.

“The Yoon Suk Yeol government will push for targeted welfare policies that are essential for vulnerable groups, rather than engaging in populist welfare schemes that indiscriminately distribute cash,” Jeong said in a briefing.

Jeong said the labor bill is “even worse” than the previous version, which had been vetoed by Yoon and then scrapped, as it expands the scope of affected parties and provides “excessive” exceptions to the liability for damages from illegal strikes.

“The bill, even dubbed the ‘illegal strike encouragement act,’ is raising concerns in the business community that it could negatively impact the job market and lead to the collapse of the industrial ecosystem,” the spokesperson said.