South Korea to Implement Guidelines for Yellow Envelope Law Instead of Decree

On August 28, the Blue House announced that the scope of union dispute actions under the Yellow Envelope Law (Labor Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act) will be outlined in implementation guidelines rather than a formal decree. This decision was made to expedite the legislative process while still achieving similar effects as a decree.

In a media announcement, the Blue House stated, "While the impact on the field is similar, we aim to establish guidelines that can be applied immediately, as opposed to a decree that takes over three months for legislative notice and regulatory review. We will monitor changes in the field after the guidelines are applied and consider other options if necessary."

President Lee Jae-myung directed Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Young-hoon during a Cabinet meeting on July 21 to create guidelines or notices equivalent to presidential decrees or implementation rules. This directive came in response to claims by the Samsung Electronics union that the establishment of a semiconductor cluster in the Honam region was included in the scope of disputes.