The Democratic Party of Korea recently proposed an amendment to the Framework Act on Small Enterprises, which would grant the right to organize and the right to collective bargaining to small business owners, who are themselves business operators. The move comes just two months after President Lee Jae-myung mentioned in April this year that "the right to organize should be allowed for small business owners," with the ruling party now pushing related legislation. But businesses are pushing back, arguing that allowing collective action by small business operators violates market order. The forced passage of the Yellow Envelope Law, which ignored corporate realities, has been intensifying conflicts between prime contractors and subcontractors. At this rate, won't the small business bill become a "Yellow Envelope Law Season 2"?
An analysis found that while Korea's minimum wage level is about 18 percent higher than the average of advanced economies, its labor productivity remains below 70 percent. According to a report by the Korea Enterprises Federation, Korea's annualized minimum wage last year was $27,571, 17.9 percent higher than the average of the Group of Seven (G7) nations at $23,390. By contrast, over the past 10 years, Korea's hourly labor productivity stood at $55.2, just 68.8 percent of the G7 average of $80.2. Even so, labor circles have proposed raising next year's minimum wage by 16.3 percent to 12,000 won. Are the sighs of small self-employed business owners simply going unheard?
