Lee proposes changes to labor, antitrust laws

President Lee Jae-myung said on April 10 that small business owners should be allowed to bargain collectively and, at a minimum, be guaranteed the right to organize, while the scope of collective action remains undecided.

At a meeting with leaders of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions at the presidential office, Lee said franchisees, suppliers and branch operators should be given the right to negotiate collectively on specific issues. Under current antitrust law, small business owners are classified as independent enterprises, and joint actions such as setting prices or suspending operations are treated as collusion. Lee indicated the government is considering revisions to allow collective bargaining by groups such as franchise operators.

Lee also pointed to shortcomings in the two-year rule for fixed-term workers. While the law requires employers to convert such workers to regular status after two years, he said companies often avoid the obligation by ending contracts before the deadline. “It is unreasonable that people doing the same work receive markedly different treatment depending on whether they are selected,” he said, calling the gap a significant distortion.

His remarks suggest a possible revision of the current system to allow fixed-term contracts to run beyond two years while enforcing equal pay for equal work, ensuring nonregular workers are not paid less than their regular counterparts.

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions called for extending labor protections to workplaces with fewer than five employees, guaranteeing worker participation in industrial safety measures, addressing nonregular jobs in the public sector and expanding multi-employer bargaining.

Presidential spokesperson Jeon Eun-soo said Lee agreed that applying full labor protections to workplaces with fewer than five employees could be phased in, but industrial safety rules should be enforced promptly and without exception.


윤다빈 empty@donga.com