▲ Sohn Kyung-shik (C), head of the Korea Enterprises Federation, together with representatives of other business lobbies, holds a press conference in Seoul on Nov. 13, 2023, calling for President Yoon Suk Yeol to veto a contentious pro-labor bill that was recently passed by the National Assembly controlled by the main opposition Democratic Party. (Yonhap)

biz lobbies-pro-labor bill

Biz lobbies ask Yoon to veto pro-labor bill

SEOUL, Nov. 13 (Yonhap) -- A group of business lobbies in South Korea on Monday asked President Yoon Suk Yeol to veto a contentious pro-labor bill that was recently passed by the National Assembly controlled by the main opposition Democratic Party (DP).

The group of six organizations, including the Korea Enterprises Federation, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Federation of Korean Industries, held a press conference in Seoul, calling on Yoon to strike down the so-called "yellow envelope" bill.

Railroaded by the DP and three other minor parties last week, the bill guarantees the bargaining rights of indirectly-employed subcontracted workers and prohibits companies from litigation for damages and provisional seizures against unionized workers with the intention of suppressing their strikes.

"We have repeatedly pleaded that the bill, if passed, will lead to irreparable damage to labor-management relations and hinder business operations for companies. We strongly condemn the opposition party for passing the retrogressive bill," the group said.

The group, in particular, argued that a clause within the bill that calls for a division of legal liabilities for individuals based on the degree of their involvement in protest activities would end up promoting illegal protests.

"The only way to prevent the economic crisis that the bill may bring is through the president's veto power," the group said.

Yoon has previously rejected two opposition-led bills -- a nursing act aimed at stipulating the roles and responsibilities of nurses, and a revision to the Grain Management Act, which required the government's purchase of surplus rice.

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