On the 15th, 56 lawmakers from the Democratic Party and Justice Party jointly proposed the ‘Yellow Envelope Act’ (a revision of the Trade Union Act) that limits the compensation and seizure of strike workers. It is interesting to see whether this bill, which the Democratic Party of Korea has selected as a key legislative task for the regular National Assembly and proposed as a party argument by the Justice Party, will be treated as the first opposition solidarity bill in the National Assembly. While several newspapers dealt with the content and meaning of the relevant bill, the Chosun and JoongAng Ilbo criticized it, calling it a monopoly or runaway of the ‘big opposition party’.
The ‘Yellow Envelope Act’ comes from the fact that in 2013, when the strikers of Ssangyong Motor were ordered to pay 4.7 billion won to the management, citizens collected donations in envelopes and delivered them. Since 2015, related bills have been proposed in the National Assembly, but have not been processed. Then, the recent strike by subcontractors of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME), which was forced into a lawsuit for damages worth 47 billion won, called for the ‘yellow envelope law’ to be proposed again. The main content of the seven related amendments is to limit the cases where a union can claim compensation for collective bargaining and industrial action to ‘direct damage caused by violence or destruction’. The Kookmin Ilbo said, “(Due to the Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine incident), the voices centered on the labor community claiming to revise the Yellow Envelope Act have gained strength again, and the fact that the lawsuit for damages related to the Ssangyong Motor strike is awaiting the Supreme Court’s ruling has also been re-examined.” The context of the proposed legislation was explained.
Some newspapers criticized the bill, calling it a monopoly and runaway by a huge opposition party. The JoongAng Ilbo reported on the ‘Yellow Envelope Act, the Audit Completion Act, the Enforcement Decree Control Act… 169 seats, solo’. The Chosun Ilbo placed an article on the head of the front page titled ‘Runaways in the city that incites illegal strikes’, and dealt with the position of the business world under the title ‘When the Yellow Envelope Act is passed, even if the union occupies the factory’, it is not responsible. The article said, “Companies’ claims for damages are virtually the only countermeasure against a situation in which the government is hesitant to inject public power into the union’s occupation of illegal workplaces or obstruction of business operations. We are concerned that it will have a devastating effect on the Violent expressions such as “wings to a runaway union” “intimidation, destruction, and injury by unions are rampant” and “lawless laws” also emerged.
On the other hand, the Hankyoreh (expanding the scope of legal strikes is the key… Hodoing the ‘law to ban damages’) from the business circles criticized the business circles, saying, “The proposal to broadly guarantee the right to dispute within the framework of the current law has been driven into the frame of ‘property infringement’.” did. The article said, “The Yellow Envelope Act is not intended to immunize even illegal industrial action, but rather a request to broaden the scope of legal collective bargaining and collective action by the labor union compared to the current one.” · We demand that the detailed regulation in terms of content be broadened to the overall industrial action. It is not the request of the KFK to ‘immunize all illegal industrial actions’.” In the past, companies have also reported precedents in which damages have been used with the intention of dissolution and pressure on unions rather than ‘property protection’.
Victim of stalking complaint for years died, responsibility for the tragedy
As the case of a subway station worker killing a female colleague who had been stalking for years became known, the negligent response of investigative and judicial agencies that failed to prevent the victims of stalking is being pointed out. There are also criticisms that the response of the perpetrator and the victim’s office worker, Seoul Transportation Corporation, and the safety management of the employees were poor.
This crime was typical of a stalking crime leading to murder. The assailant, Mr. Jeon, has sent hundreds of phone calls and text messages to the victim since 2019 and threatened to distribute illegally filmed footage. The Hankyoreh (3 years of persistent stalking… there was no arrest despite illegal filming and threats) pointed out that “the primary cause is that investigative agencies and courts still treat stalking crimes like ordinary crimes.” The police’s ‘safety measures for crime victims’ (personal protection) for stalking victims did not work this time as well.
It is also pointed out that the Stalking Punishment Act focuses only on punishing the perpetrators, and the protection of victims is insufficient. The Hankook Ilbo (investigation without detention despite two charges… The stalking law that did not prevent the victim’s death) said, “(the perpetrator) was a clear sex crime suspect, but the police did not even apply for a warrant, let alone additional protective measures.” “If the suspect is free, he can go to trial. It means that victims can be exposed to crimes in the process.” It is also urgent to take protective measures in consideration of the specificity of the stalking crime, in which the perpetrator penetrates the victim’s personal information. It is predicted that there are signs that this case will become escalating like the ‘Gangnam Station Incident’ in 2016.
There is also criticism that the Seoul Transportation Corporation’s response put the victims in a vulnerable situation. The victim went into the women’s bathroom alone without any protective equipment and was killed for patrol, and the Seoul subway sheriff is dispatched to emergency situations, but is not a resident person. The Kookmin Ilbo (night patrol alone… there are no measures to protect subway station staff from being attacked without defense) said, “It was investigated that over the past two years (2020-2021), an average of 210 construction workers, including 210 station staff, suffered 168 assaults and verbal abuse.” The corporation and the Seoul Metropolitan Government have pursued a plan to grant judicial power to subway station staff and sheriffs, but it has been at a standstill for 10 years.”
It was also pointed out that the environment in which the victim was not informed of the damage or asked for help was also pointed out due to the atmosphere in which the perpetrators were protected. The Kyunghyang Shinmun (employees, who identified the perpetrator as a “good person”…there was no place to speak to the victim’s sister) conveyed this atmosphere through an interview with the bereaved family. He criticized the measures to separate victims.
President Yun Seok-yeol’s ‘solar cartel’ remarks as a signal of the situation
On the 15th, President Yoon Seok-yeol defined the corruption related to the ‘solar power project’ promoted during the Moon Jae-in administration as “an interest in cartel corruption.” There is an interpretation that the president directly gave a signal to intensify the situation in earnest. The Kyunghyang Shinmun (President Yoon, who directly mentioned ‘judicial treatment’, in front of the government) said, “As President Yoon expressed his strict will, the scope of the government’s follow-up investigation is likely to be affected. The government’s joint anti-corruption promotion team is reviewing the scope of the investigation by sending manpower from each department or by forming a task force to expand the scope of the investigation.”
In the case of the Hankyoreh, in an editorial (President Yoon’s inappropriate ‘solar power cartel’ remarks), he said, “It is a hasty and excessive leap for the president to conclude that it is a ‘cartel corruption’ without any basis before a sufficient investigation has been conducted.” It is also very inappropriate to have an attitude that seems to instruct the police to investigate.” “What is more worrisome is the possibility of pushing forward the abolition of the new and renewable energy policy in earnest by igniting this incident,” he said. .
The Dong-A Ilbo (尹 “Solar Power Interest Cartel”…the government seems to be about to investigate the energy business allegations), “The full investigation into the solar power corruption allegations has explosive power that can be expanded to investigations targeting the former government. As the intelligence related to the ‘movement rights cartel’ has already been obtained by the police, the expansion of the investigation seems to be a scheduled procedure. said
In the case of the JoongAng Ilbo, on this day, the article titled ‘Trees cut down due to solar power, 2.65 million trees during the Moon administration alone’, “It was found that more than 2.6 million trees were cut down during the Moon Jae-in administration when solar power generation facilities were installed. The Moon Jae-in administration increased the proportion of solar power generation while pursuing a nuclear-free and carbon-neutral policy, which again damaged forests, a representative carbon sink.”
Concerns over ‘control bill’ over Democratic Audit and Inspectorate Act amendment
The Democratic Party of Korea has proposed an amendment to the Board of Audit and Inspection Act that provides for the approval of the National Assembly during special inspections and penalties for violating the duty of political neutrality to prevent the audit of the Board of Audit and Inspection from being misused as political retaliation. With this in mind, some newspapers raised concerns that the political authorities responsible for the management of the Board of Audit and Inspection could regain control over the Board of Audit and Inspection.
The Hankook Ilbo editorial (to get approval from the National Assembly in advance to prevent ‘political audit’) pointed out, “If the ruling and opposition parties change, the Democrats will also criticize this bill.” “As everyone knows, the problem is not the law.” “Even now, the Board of Audit and Inspection is only an institution belonging to the President in a formal way, but it is supposed to maintain its independence in function. Even so, if they take power, they have used audit as a means to undermine the policies of the previous government or to banish people.”
The Kookmin Ilbo (the Democratic Party’s unconventional law to control the Board of Audit and Inspection), the Seoul Shimbun (the opposition party’s unconstitutional idea that the National Assembly will control the Board of Audit and Inspection), the Segye Ilbo (the Democratic Party’s tyranny of legislation asking for the approval of the National Assembly before the special audit), The Chosun Ilbo (this time neutralizing the Board of Audit and Inspection, the Democratic Party) makes a law for the Democratic Party) and criticized the bill through editorials.