The results of the polls regarding these amendments appear to be tight with slightly more
dissenting opinions. Although the results vary depending on the polling agency or the
question type, according to the National Barometer Survey (NBS) Report No. 83523) jointly
conducted by four organizations, as of Nov. 2022, regarding the opinion on the enactment of
the Yellow Envelope Act, 37% of the responses were ‘positive,’ and 40% of the responses
were ‘negative.’
B) Controversy Surrounding the Proposed Amendment to the Trade Union Act
Even in accordance with the current law, compensation cannot be claimed for damages
caused by collective bargaining or actions under the Trade Union Act (Article 3 of the Trade
Union Act). Moreover, even under current law, as well as the proposed amendment,
collective actions that cause direct damage due to violence or destruction are not exempted
from liability. In other words, the issue is related to the extent of the act subjected to
immunity (‘acts under the Trade Union Act’), and the main substance of the recently
proposed amendment is expanding the scope of the acts subjected to immunity (excluded
from the damages claims).
The opinion in favor of the revision of the Trade Union Act asserts that in order to be
exempted from the damages caused by collective actions, a strike must fall under the
conditions set forth in the Trade Union Act and the precedents. However, it is difficult for
strikes to be recognized as legal, such as even a strike by a subcontractors’ union that
opposes layoffs or restructuring or demands dialogue with the prime contractor is considered
illegal strikes.524) It is further asserted that the life of individual members and the activities
of the labor union will be greatly reduced in the course of a long court lawsuit due to a large
amount of damages claimed.525)
523) National Barometer Survey: regular telephone poll conducted and published by Embrain Public, K-Stat Research,
Korea Research, and Hankook Research on their own without receiving requests from external institutions.
524) Supreme Court precedents do not recognize matters related to collective labor relations, such as full-time union
officials and guarantees of union activities, as ‘matters other than working conditions’ and are not currently
recognized as subjects of ‘labor disputes,’ and layoffs and restructuring are also subject to business management.
It is not recognized as a subject of labor dispute because it is a management measure. In addition, lower court
precedents believe that ‘rights disputes’ (legal disputes), which are disputes between parties regarding the
interpretation, application, and implementation of norms such as existing laws, collective agreements, and
employment rules, do not fall under the scope of ‘labor disputes.’
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