Lee Orders Labor Ministry to Clarify Criteria for "Yellow Envelope Act" Disputes and Review Detailed Regulations

Ministry Says “Administrative Interpretation Already Provided”...
Lee: “Interpretation and Clear Standards Are Different”

“Lack of Delegation Clause Does Not Mean Detailed Guidelines Cannot Be Established”

Urges Active Utilization of Enforcement Decrees and Ministerial Rules

On August 11, President Lee Jae-myung instructed the Ministry of Employment and Labor to actively consider establishing detailed criteria that would make it clearer which matters are subject to labor disputes under the so-called “Yellow Envelope Act” (the amendments to Articles 2 and 3 of the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act) and which are not. Although the Ministry had already issued an administrative interpretation, President Lee stated, “Providing an interpretation and establishing criteria are different,” emphasizing the need for more concrete regulations that could reduce uncertainty for businesses and the labor sector.

President Lee Jae-myung is speaking at the Cabinet meeting held at the Government Complex in Sejong on August 11, 2026. Photo by Yonhap News

During the Cabinet meeting held at the Government Complex Sejong that day, President Lee told Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Young-hoon, “There are criticisms that there should be clear rules, such as specific cases, to determine whether an issue is subject to industrial action under the Yellow Envelope Act.” When Minister Kim responded, “We have already addressed everything through administrative interpretation,” President Lee replied, “Interpretations can vary,” adding, “Stating that this is the correct interpretation according to the Ministry’s opinion and establishing a standard that certain cases are excluded are two different matters.”

As a concrete example, President Lee cited the possibility of disputes arising over management decisions such as the selection of factory sites. He noted, “You previously said that opposing ‘where a company builds a factory’ is not acceptable, and there have been requests to clearly stipulate this,” adding, “This argument has some merit, so actively consider it.”

When Minister Kim raised the issue of whether the law contained a delegation provision, President Lee asserted that the absence of explicit legislative delegation does not prevent the government from establishing detailed enforcement guidelines. President Lee said, “It is the executive’s authority under the Constitution to determine the detailed matters necessary for the enforcement of laws,” and “It is not that the lack of a delegation clause precludes action—instead, it can be done as long as it is within the scope necessary for enforcement and does not violate the law.” Minister Kim responded, “We will actively consider it.”

President Lee further called for a change in the practice whereby ministries overly rely on legislative amendments during policy implementation, beyond just the Yellow Envelope Act. He stressed the need to distinguish between issues that truly require law revision and those that can be addressed through enforcement decrees, enforcement rules, and administrative guidelines, in order to accelerate policy execution.

President Lee remarked, “Excessive reliance on the National Assembly has led to an overwhelming legislative workload,” and, “Trying to resolve everything through law revision—even things that can be handled sufficiently through enforcement decrees, rules, and guidelines—has resulted in over ten thousand laws awaiting amendment, causing work to stall.” He further requested, “Other ministries should also actively consider ensuring that only truly necessary matters are handled through legislation.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.