노란봉투법 ‘쟁의 대상 축소’ 못박나…노동계 “정부, 노동기본권 제약”

The revised sentence structure for the source material is as follows:

On December 12th, Employment and Labor Minister Kim Young-hun stated that his office is reviewing the "yellow envelope" law (amended labor union and labor relations adjustment law) to clearly define labor dispute subjects. This is in response to President Jang's recent directive to do so. Critics argue that the government's overreach in exercising authority, potentially restricting basic labor rights.

During a parliamentary committee meeting, Kim expressed his belief that the "subjectivity of disputes" could be clarified through administrative guidelines, rather than detailed institutionalization, as directed by the president. The president had previously called for the clear definition of "dispute subjects" in the "yellow envelope" law, noting that some large companies' labor unions were seeking a percentage of profit as wages.

The law's implementation in March expanded the scope of labor disputes to include decisions that impact working conditions, such as business management decisions. The president's intention seems to be to prevent labor unions from making unreasonable demands. The issue revolves around whether the "yellow envelope" law can specify dispute subjects in the implementation rules or guidelines due to the lack of a delegation clause in the labor union law.

Initially, Kim was skeptical, but after strong pressure from the president, the Ministry of Labor shifted its focus to reviewing implementation rules. The Ministry is reviewing both the delegation of authority and the implementation regulations. A Labor Ministry official stated that the constitution allows for both delegation of authority and implementation regulations, and they will thoroughly examine both.

The labor community strongly opposes this approach, with Korean Federation of Trade Unions Secretary General Choi Woong stating that the government is trying to narrow down the provisions of the labor law, which undermines its purpose. The Democratic Labor Union also criticized the government for reacting hastily to a specific company's case, turning it into a regulatory measure.

Experts are concerned that limiting the dispute subjects through implementation rules could violate the collective bargaining rights, potentially constituting an infringement of fundamental rights.