Labor tribunal cases set to top 30,000 for first time as 'yellow envelope law' reshapes disputes

Cases filed with the National Labor Relations Commission have surged since the so-called "yellow envelope law" — amendments to Articles 2 and 3 of the Trade Union Act — took effect.

Subcontractor unions have flooded the commission with demands to bargain directly with parent companies and with applications to separate bargaining units, pushing total filings in the first four months of this year nearly 45 percent above the same period last year.

With a first-ever strike at Kakao, a prolonged dispute at Samsung Biologics and a general strike by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions all on the horizon, analysts say the commission could receive more than 30,000 cases this year — the first time in its history.

The commission received 14,582 cases from January through April, up 4,502 cases, or 44.7 percent, from 10,080 during the same period last year.

Labor circles and officials at the Ministry of Employment and Labor point directly to the amended Trade Union Act as the driver. Since the law took effect, subcontractor unions have sharply increased filings for correction of bargaining-demand notices against parent companies, disputes over the consolidation of bargaining channels, and applications to separate bargaining units.

Ministry data confirm that bargaining demands tied to rulings on whether a parent company qualifies as an employer have multiplied since the amendments came into force. The commission has had to commit substantial administrative resources to processing the related cases.

The commission's caseload has climbed steeply for years.

Commission statistics show total filings rose from 17,800 in 2021 to 18,110 in 2022, 21,691 in 2023, 24,265 in 2024 and 26,806 last year, setting a new all-time high each year.

The surge in cases has also worsened processing delays.

The average time to resolve a case stretched from 50.1 days in 2024 to 52.7 days last year. The average processing time for appeals before the Central Labor Relations Commission rose even more sharply, from 93.8 days to 114.6 days over the same period — an increase of more than 20 days.

Cases typically move from an initial hearing at a regional labor commission to an appeal before the central commission before proceeding to administrative litigation. The deeper the backlog, the heavier the litigation burden becomes.

For administrative litigation, the average time from a first-instance ruling to a final Supreme Court decision was 1,137 days last year — meaning final resolution takes more than three years. That figure has risen every year, from 957 days in 2023 to 1,092 days in 2024.

Labor experts say there is a real chance the commission will handle more than 30,000 cases this year for the first time in its history.

The summer wage and collective bargaining season is getting under way, and a string of major labor disputes is already in the pipeline.

Demands for performance bonuses tied to operating profit are spreading across industries, and a growing push to extend bargaining to parent companies has added a new flashpoint in labor-management relations.

The Kakao union has announced the company's first-ever strike for June 10. The labor dispute at Samsung Biologics has dragged on with no resolution in sight. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions has also called a general strike for July 15, piling pressure on the government and the business community.

Commission filings tend to concentrate at the pre-strike stage, when parties seek mediation, and then rise again during strikes as unfair labor practice complaints and disciplinary disputes follow. Analysts say a broader spread of labor-management conflict will inevitably push case numbers higher.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor has set up "labor bargaining support teams" at eight regional labor offices and their main branch offices nationwide to prepare for labor unrest in the second half of the year. The ministry plans to monitor bargaining at major workplaces on an ongoing basis and step up on-site mediation to prevent disputes from dragging on.

"The yellow envelope law has turned the labor commission into the central arena for labor-management disputes," a labor community official said. "Cases over whether a parent company qualifies as an employer and over the scope of bargaining are likely to keep increasing."