Emeritus Professor, Myongji University. Co-representative, Citizens United for Better Society

  The stock market was devastated on August 1st, the day after the Korea-US tariff negotiations were settled at 15%. The KOSPI plummeted by 3.88%. Institutions and foreigners sold off 656.3 billion KRW and 1,072 billion KRW respectively, while individuals net-purchased 1,628.3 billion KRW. If individuals hadn't absorbed the sell-off, the KOSPI would have fallen further.

  Isn't it strange? After strenuously negotiating tariffs with the US and settling them at 15%, the same level as the EU and Japan, and passing the 'Commercial Act Amendment' designed to promote the 'value-up' of Korea's stock market, the KOSPI should have soared. However, the opposite occurred because political and economic uncertainty has reached its peak. At the center of this is Minister of Employment and Labor, Kim Young-hoon, a former leader of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU).

 

  It is customary for the government to act as a 'counterbalance' and moderate the content of bills when the National Assembly leads the way in passing legislation. But this time, it's the opposite. Minister Kim Young-hoon, from the relevant ministry, is rolling up his sleeves even further. The business community is simply bewildered.

 

  His actions are unusual, befitting his KCTU background. Immediately after taking office, he visited a high-altitude protest site where protesters claimed 'the employer's dismissal was illegal.' He argued, "There is no better ruling than an agreement between labor and management." These workplaces had received court rulings stating that the dismissals were 'not wrongful.' It appears he believes that if labor and management agree, court rulings can be overturned.

  The Minister of Employment and Labor is not merely a labor minister. The Ministry of Employment and Labor is a department with a broad policy scope that considers not only the protection of workers' rights but also 'jobs, corporate management, and productivity.' Despite this, in his inauguration speech, Kim Young-hoon did not mention 'employment' even once and emphasized 'labor' sixteen times. 'Labor' is meaningless without 'employment' as a prerequisite. He refused to answer the question about South Korea's primary enemy during his confirmation hearing. He has not shed his activist mindset.

 

  The National Assembly's Environment and Labor Committee reviewed the amendment to Articles 2 and 3 of the Labor Union Act (the 'Yellow Envelope Law') on the 28th of last month. The government and the National Assembly proposed an amendment that would specify that 'highly management-related decisions such as investment decisions, relocation of business sites overseas, and restructuring' would also be subject to dispute action.

 

  The amendment expands the definition of labor disputes. The current Labor Union Act defines a labor dispute as "a dispute arising from a disagreement over the determination of working conditions." In this process, 'determination of working conditions' has been expanded to 'determination of working conditions and business management decisions that affect working conditions.' The aim of expanding the definition of labor disputes is to treat all disagreements between labor and management as grounds for dispute. It is essentially a 'hidden message' that all major corporate decisions must be made with union permission.

The trade war initiated by US President Trump is demanding, "Increase production in the United States." Unions are attempting to make even trade policy a target for strikes. The 'scope of employers' has been broadened to include "those who exercise actual influence or control, or who can be recognized as opponents to the labor union, even if they are not parties to the employment contract." If this happens, the subcontracting relationship based on 'tolling contracts' will be negated, and the primary contractor will have to engage in direct collective bargaining with the subcontractor's union. The primary contractor will be plagued by collective bargaining all year round.

 

The most significant change is the strengthening of the 'burden of proof for damages against employers.' When claiming damages for a strike, it will be necessary to differentiate and claim proportionally based on 'how much damage each individual union member caused to the company.' Even when a worker commits violent acts, with their name tag removed and wearing a mask, the employer must claim the damages contributed by each striking worker individually.

Therefore, joint liability claims become impossible. Civil Code Article 750, which states, "A person who causes damage to another due to an intentional or negligent wrongful act shall be liable for such damage," will inevitably become a dead letter. The Yellow Envelope Law is a malicious law that incites strikes. Consequently, no foreign companies will establish themselves in Korea. Domestic companies will also leave. A union without companies is an act of suicide.

 

France, which is relatively lenient towards union activities, amended its law in 1982 to 'prohibit claims for damages for all collective actions by unions,' but this was ruled unconstitutional by the Constitutional Council and was not implemented. In the United States, under the NLRA (National Labor Relations Act), damages are ordered against unions or union members in cases of illegal strikes.

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