The parliamentary legislation and judiciary committee holds a plenary session at the National Assembly in Seoul on Aug. 1, 2025. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, August 1 (Korea Bizwire) — The parliamentary judiciary committee on Friday approved a set of contentious bills vetoed by former President Yoon Suk Yeol, including legislation aimed at reducing the government’s clout over public broadcasters and strengthening labor protections.
During the committee’s plenary session, the ruling Democratic Party (DP) lawmakers also unilaterally passed a revision to the Commercial Act despite strong objection from lawmakers of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP).
Among the bills are three pieces of broadcasting legislation — amendments to the Broadcasting Act, the Foundation for Broadcast Culture Act and the Korea Educational Broadcasting System Act — aimed at reforming the governance structure of the nation’s public broadcast media by weakening the government and the National Assembly’s power to name board directors.
While the DP has argued the bills will prevent political influence in the appointment of the heads of public broadcasters, the PPP warned they will only increase the presence of progressive figures on the boards of public broadcasters.
Also approved at the session was the Labor Union Act, commonly known as the “yellow envelope law,” aimed at broadening labor protections and restricting companies from seeking damages for legitimate union activities. The bill was previously vetoed by Yoon amid opposition from business lobbies and the PPP.
Additionally, the committee passed a revision to the Commercial Act aimed at better protecting minority shareholders.
The revision mandates the adoption of the cumulative voting system at large listed companies with assets over 2 trillion won (US$1.45 billion) and expands the separate nomination of audit committee members from one to at least two.
These provisions were excluded from an earlier Commercial Act revision that expands fiduciary duty of corporate board members to all shareholders, which passed the Assembly in June.
The latest revision comes as Lee has pledged to improve corporate governance as part of efforts to eliminate the so-called Korea Discount, which refers to undervalued local stocks.
The PPP has opposed the revision, citing concerns over inefficient corporate governance and a negative impact on the competitiveness of companies. The government and the DP argues the measures are necessary to improve working conditions and corporate governance.
Meanwhile, the Grain Management Act, which requires the government to purchase surplus rice to stabilize prices during market fluctuations, was approved at the session without objection.
The bills will be put up for a full vote at the National Assembly’s plenary session Monday.
(Yonhap)
