The Yellow Envelope Law originated from citizen donations to support SsangYong Motor strike workers. The photo shows the Metal Workers’ Union holding a rally in front of the main gate of SsangYong Motor’s Pyeongtaek plant in June 2010, marking the first anniversary of the factory occupation strike. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s National Assembly has approved amendments to the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act, known as the Yellow Envelope Law, granting subcontracted and platform workers broader bargaining rights and restricting corporate claims for damages against unions. The law, passed on August 24, will take effect after a six-month grace period.
The revisions focus on Articles 2 and 3 of the act, redefining the scope of “employers,” “labor disputes,” and liability for damages. Article 2 now includes entities that, while not the direct employer, exercise “substantial and specific control” over working conditions, making them responsible as employers for certain matters.
This allows indirectly employed workers — such as subcontracted or platform workers — to engage in collective bargaining with parent companies, though only on issues where such control applies.
The definition of a labor dispute has also been broadened from “determining working conditions” to “business management decisions affecting working conditions,” including restructuring, layoffs and corporate consolidations. However, decisions such as factory expansion or overseas investment will not automatically qualify unless they directly alter employment terms.
Article 3 revises rules on damage claims. Employers will no longer be able to seek compensation for losses arising from lawful union activities, including collective bargaining, strikes, picketing and publicity campaigns.
The amendments further shield workers from liability if harm was caused while responding to employer misconduct in urgent situations where no other remedy was available. Courts must also apportion liability individually, based on each worker’s role and contribution, rather than imposing blanket joint responsibility.
The law also removes a clause that excluded unions allowing non-worker membership, a change aimed at safeguarding the rights of platform and special-contract workers while maintaining the principle that unions must be worker-led.
The government said it will establish a task force to gather feedback from business groups and incorporate their concerns into detailed enforcement guidelines before implementation, in an effort to minimize confusion and industrial disruption.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
