Jung Jum-sik, floor leader of the People Power Party, criticized on Wednesday that "the Yellow Envelope Law and the tougher Commercial Act, which the Lee Jae-myung government and the Democratic Party of Korea pushed through, are stalling the Gwangju-South Jeolla semiconductor cluster."
Speaking at a floor leadership meeting held at the National Assembly, Jung said, "This is the result of Lee Jae-myung's 'populism world.' It is like striking one's own foot with an axe." He added, "Samsung Electronics' union and minority shareholder groups are resisting the Gwangju-South Jeolla chip plant construction projects announced by Samsung Electronics and SK hynix."
Jung pointed out, "The Samsung Super Enterprise Union proposed a labor-management-government forum, arguing that industrial safety at the worksites where members will work, residential infrastructure, and treatment must be in place and supported. The very legal basis that allows unions to step forward and demand consultation on corporate investment decisions is the Yellow Envelope Law (the amendment to the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act)."
He continued, "The Republic of Korea Shareholders Movement Headquarters, a minority shareholder group, demanded that Samsung Electronics and SK hynix hold shareholder briefings, arguing that there was no explanation to shareholders, the owners of the company, during the mega project decision process. The tougher Commercial Act, which the Democratic Party passed under the pretext of preventing the abuse of power by major shareholders and protecting the interests of minority shareholders, will be implemented in phases starting late this month. In line with the purpose of the Commercial Act amendment, the argument that the president and corporate heads should not decide on massive investments worth thousands of trillions of won behind closed doors, but should seek shareholder verification and consent, is reasonable."
Jung said, "This is the result of populist governance created to target the support base while chasing only political gains without sufficient deliberation," and demanded, "President Lee should now fully overhaul his populist stance."
Meanwhile, regarding the Democratic Party's decision to push for an amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act that would determine whether to retain prosecutors' supplementary investigation rights, Jung criticized, "If we completely separate investigation and indictment and eliminate supplementary investigation rights, 'case ping-pong' between investigative agencies will increase indefinitely, and this will come entirely as suffering for victims." He called it "a shallow political-engineering calculation to rally hardline supporters with a 'prosecution retaliation narrative' ahead of the party convention."
He also pointed out, "What is most concerning is that the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee is leading the way in destroying the nation's judicial system. Yesterday (the 2nd), Legislation and Judiciary Committee Chairman Seo Young-kyo signaled that he would speed up the handling of the Criminal Procedure Act amendment to abolish supplementary investigation rights." He harshly criticized, "The Democratic Party mistakes the Legislation and Judiciary Committee for a stage to hack up the judicial system to suit the tastes of hardline supporters."
