Opposition unilaterally passes contentious pro-labor bill

The opposition-controlled National Assembly on Monday passed a pro-labor bill that aims to limit companies from making claims for damages against legitimate labor union disputes despite protest from ruling party lawmakers.

The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) and other minor parties voted to pass the revision to the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act, better known as the “yellow envelope bill.”

Lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) left the plenary session in protest.

Despite the bill’s passage, President Yoon Suk Yeol can exercise his veto power against the bill, which will then require two-thirds parliamentary support to override the veto.

Last year, Yoon rejected a similar bill amid strong opposition from business lobbies and the ruling party.

The PPP said it will urge Yoon to exercise his veto rights against the bill, as well as another controversial legislation on providing cash handouts to the public that passed the Assembly last week.

Business lobbies and the ruling party have strongly opposed the labor bill, arguing it would make it difficult for employers to file complaints against illegal strikes by their workers and exempt laborers from liability for participating in illegal strikes.

The controversial bill dates back to 2009, when unionized workers of carmaker SsangYong Motor Co. staged a high-profile strike to oppose a massive layoff. Five years later, the Supreme Court declared the strike illegal and ordered the workers to pay 4.7 billion won (US$3.6 million) in compensation to the company and the state.

A number of civic activists and citizens have since delivered yellow envelopes, each containing 47,000 won in donations, to support the SsangYong workers, raising the need to amend the trade union law in favor of striking workers. The revision has since been nicknamed the “yellow envelope bill.”

During the plenary session, the parliament also approved the nomination of judge Lee Sook-yeon for Supreme Court justice.

The confirmation hearing of Lee, who was earlier chosen to replace one of the three outgoing justices at the top court, was delayed amid revelations that her daughter had earned a 63-fold profit by selling shares to her father after purchasing them with his money.

The two other nominees — Roh Kyung-pil, a senior judge at the Suwon High Court, and Park Young-jae, a senior judge at the Seoul High Court — received consent from the Assembly last week.