“Yellow envelope bill” and the three broadcasting bills to be laid before the National Assembly on November 9

A plenary session is underway at the National Assembly. By Dong-hoon Sung

The “yellow envelope bill” (amendments to articles 2 and 3 of the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act) and the “three broadcasting bills” (amendments to the Broadcasting Act, the Foundation for Broadcast Culture Act, and the Korea Educational Broadcasting System Act) will be presented to the National Assembly next month, but ruling and opposition parties remain sharply divided on the legislation.

If the opposition pushes to pass the bills, the People Power Party (PPP) has vowed to fight back with a filibuster (unlimited debate). Eyes are on whether President Yoon Suk-yeol will once again veto the bills.

According to the National Assembly and the ruling and opposition parties on Tuesday, National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo met the floor leaders Yun Jae-ok (PPP) and Hong Ihk-pyo (Democratic Party of Korea) on Monday and told them that it was inevitable for him to present the yellow envelope bill and the three broadcasting acts in the parliamentary session scheduled for November 9. The speaker suggested that the bills be brought before the National Assembly first, then have lawmakers pass the bills after the ruling and opposition parties spend plenty of time discussing the pros and cons. But Yun said that the bills should not be brought before the lawmakers without an agreement between the ruling and opposition parties and announced that the PPP would launch a filibuster for each of the four bills if they were laid before parliament.

The yellow envelope bill strengthens the liability of prime contractors for subcontracted workers and restricts reckless damage claims and seizures by companies against workers on strike. The three broadcasting laws seek to reduce political influence on public broadcasting by expanding and reorganizing the boards of KBS, MBC, and EBS.

Earlier, the Democratic Party argued that the Legislation and Judiciary Committee chaired by PPP lawmaker Kim Do-eup was delaying the processing of the four bills, which had already passed in their respective standing committees, and voted in favor of the committees presenting the bills before the National Assembly separately.

If the PPP engages in a filibuster to delay the passing of the bills, it could take at least five days to pass all four legislation.

The PPP is counting on the Constitutional Court to announce its decision on a competence dispute, which the party had requested earlier, on October 26. The PPP argued that committees directly presenting bills still being legally reviewed by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee was a violation of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee’s right to review legislation.

If the bills are passed, President Yoon could exercise his right to veto the bills, just as he did with the amendment of the Grain Management Act and the enactment of the Nursing Act. This would raise questions about the sincerity of President Yoon, who, after the party’s defeat in the by-election for the district mayor of Gangseo-gu, humbled himself, saying, “The people are always right no matter what.” There is still a chance that the PPP could actively engage in negotiations and reach a dramatic agreement with the opposition.