The Yellow Envelope Law's true measure of success is collective bargaining, not the number of strikes
It has been eight months since the Yellow Envelope Law took effect. Park Eun-jung, Professor of Law at Korea National Open University, outlined the direction of the Lee Jae-myung government's labor policy in the sixth installment of her column series, 'Labor Policy for a New Social Reform.'
The Yellow Envelope Law (a partial amendment to the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act) was passed at the National Assembly plenary session on August 24, 2025. The name 'Yellow Envelope' was first attached not to issues like expanding the scope of employers or bargaining between prime contractors and subcontractors, but to the intention of addressing a problem in which workers who participated in strikes faced massive damage claims and asset seizures (provisional attachments), blocking the exercise of the three basic labor rights (the right to organize, the right to collective bargaining, and the right to collective action).
The amended law does not exempt liability for damages; rather, it requires that the scope of liability be determined by considering each union member's position and role, degree of participation, and extent of involvement in the damages incurred. Contrary to criticism that it is a 'get-out-of-jail-free card for illegal strikes,' Professor Park Eun-jung explained that exempting responsibility and reasonably allocating responsibility are clearly two different things.
The amended law brought management decisions affecting working conditions and certain violations of collective agreements within the scope of labor disputes. This was against the backdrop of the limitations of the conventional concept of labor disputes, which struggled to address conflicts arising from restructuring and similar issues. Professor Park noted that disputes can only be avoided when bargaining is possible.
Labor-management relations do not change automatically just because the law has changed. Professor Park stated that employers must not avoid bargaining, and unions must rationally assess their bargaining counterparts and agendas. She explained that the success of the Yellow Envelope Law should be measured not by the rise or fall in the number of strikes, but by the extent to which conflicts that remained outside the bargaining table are being brought into the arena of collective bargaining and resolved.
Professor Park said that even if there are aspects to improve in the process of implementing the new system, we should calmly examine what this law was intended to change and how those changes are actually manifesting in labor-management relations, rather than piling worry upon worry. She emphasized that progressive labor policy can transform people's lives and firmly support the government.
