(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Ahn Jung-hoon = On the 27th, the ruling and opposition parties expressed concerns at the National Assembly's Climate, Energy, Environment and Labor Committee audit by differing views on the so-called 'Ultra-wide Special Zone Act', which includes special provisions for labor.
Some members of the Democratic Party of Korea openly opposed the special provision, saying it could regress workers' rights, and the People Power Party questioned whether the government might change its strategy by revising the enforcement ordinance rather than legislation, considering the labor community's concerns.
Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Yong-woo strongly criticized the ultra-metropolitan special zone bill, which stipulates special exceptions to the 52-hour workweek for high-income and research workers, during the National Assembly audit on this day, saying, "It is a lazy solution. It is an attempt that no conservative party has dared to attempt."
Rep. Lee raised his voice, saying, “Unlimited work permission should be applied equally to all workers and should not be applied discriminatoryly,” and “It directly violates the legal principle of working conditions stipulated in the Constitution.”
At the same time, he did not hide his concern, saying, “The worst forms of labor will return,” and “Isn’t it already medically established that compressed labor and irregular labor have a very significant impact on the mind and body?”
Rep. Ahn Ho-young of the same party asked Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Young-hoon about the ultra-metropolitan special zone bill, "A solution must be found through social dialogue. That's how you see it."
He asked again, saying, "Are you of the position that there is no set conclusion or answer, but that a solution is created through social dialogue and that the government or minister's position is revealed based on that?"
The People Power Party pointed out that at the Regulatory Rationalization Committee meeting held at the Blue House on the 23rd, President Lee Jae-myung ordered to consider revising the enforcement ordinance in response to the controversy surrounding the Ultra-Metropolitan Special Zone Act.
Rep. Lee Jong-bae of the People Power Party asked, “Aren’t we ultimately giving up on special legislation and just tinkering with the enforcement ordinance?”
Rep. Lee added, "This time, we are being pushed back by the two major trade unions again. Even if we try to move forward, I think we will retreat again." He added, "The minister should work while looking at the president, who is the appointing authority, but I can't shake the feeling that he is still working according to the code of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU)."
Regarding the two bills proposed by the ruling party, Rep. Kim Ki-hyeon of the same party pointed out, "The ruling party has come up with a completely conflicting bill. When I asked (Minister Kim) what the government's position was, he said he would continue to reach social agreements and be a facilitator of dialogue, but that is not a responsible attitude as a minister."
As backlash from the labor community erupted over special labor provisions such as 'white-collar immigration,' the Democratic Party is pursuing a two-track discussion strategy of proposing bills that include and excludes the provisions, and then merging them and reviewing them at the National Assembly.
