B. Main Topics 1) Initiatives and Issues on the Proposed Amendment to the Trade Union Act (Yellow Envelope Act) A) DSME Strike, Damage Claims Lawsuits and Re-examination of ‘Yellow Envelope Law’ As of Dec. 2022, 10 amendments to the ‘Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act’ (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Yellow Envelope Act’515)) have been proposed in the National Assembly. The main content of these proposed amendments is to partially limit the employer’s claims for damages in labor disputes in order to guarantee the workers’ three labor rights in practice. Similar legislative amendments have been proposed and abandoned several times since 2015. However, it is receiving attention again due to DSME subcontractors’ strike516) and the management’s lawsuit for damages of 47.3 bil. KRW517) in 2022. are drawing attention once again. The amended Trade Union Act proposed by the National Assembly is common in terms of limiting the filing of lawsuits for damages, etc. by the management for the strikes by trade unions, with slightly different details. It includes regulations prohibiting claims for damages caused by trade union activities, or prohibiting seizure or provisional seizure of property, and regulations prohibiting individuals from claiming compensation for damages caused by collective actions, except for expanding the concept of workers and employers under the Trade Union Act and the scope of ‘labor disputes,’ and damages caused by violence or destruction. 515) The name 'Yellow Envelope Act' came from the fact that a citizen sent 47,000 won to a magazine <Sisa in> as the court ruled on compensation of 4.7 bil. KRW in a lawsuit filed by the company after the 2009 Ssangyong Motor strike, and the 'Yellow Envelope Campaign' was started. As a result, the term has been used to refer to laws to prevent employers' indiscriminate claims for damages and provisional seizures against industrial action by labor unions. 516) According to the press conference of the Geoje Tongyeong Goseong Shipbuilding Subcontracting Branch of the National Metal Workers’ Union (May 27, 2022), the main demand of the subcontracting union is to restore wages, which were cut during the shipbuilding industry recession, to the previous level by increasing wages by 30%. 517) DSME is seeking compensation for damages to prevent future illegal occupation and strikes and to establish a future-oriented labor-management relationship. The amount was calculated in consideration of unnecessary expenses due to construction interruption, etc., and damages caused by delays in payment, etc. 214