The South Korean Ministry of Labor is set to implement the Yellow Envelope Law, which amends specific articles of the Labor Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act, by creating a specialized committee to clarify employer status and other administrative interpretations to reduce confusion in the workplace. The creation of this Collective Bargaining Decision Support Committee comes in response to the expanded definition of employers and labor disputes as stipulated by the amended law, aiming to provide timely guidance on various individual labor relations cases.

According to the Ministry, the committee will be composed of up to ten public interest members appointed by the Minister of Labor from the National Labor Relations Commission. Although the administrative interpretations provided by this committee do not carry legal binding force, they are expected to serve as important guidelines that influence actual workplace relations. Additionally, the committee will include specialized bodies focused on employer judgments and labor dispute assessments, highlighting the significance of its role in supporting labor negotiations and enhancing clarity in employer-employee relationships under the new legal framework.

This initiative follows the Ministry's previous release of guidelines in December last year, detailing the administrative interpretations related to the revised definitions of employers and disputes introduced by the new law. The Yellow Envelope Law essentially empowers subcontractor unions to negotiate with primary employers, expanding the scope for legitimate disputes involving both primary and subcontracting unions. In cases where the parties involved accept the interpretations of the Ministry's committee, they will be able to independently determine their negotiation stance; however, disagreeing parties have recourse to the National Labor Relations Committee for resolution on employer status issues.