Top 10 conglomerates urge labor minister to resolve 'yellow envelope law' uncertainty, build AI-era framework

Amid growing uncertainty in the business community over the enforcement of the so-called "yellow envelope law" — the revised Trade Union Act — and ongoing debates over raising the retirement age, chief human resources officers from South Korea's top 10 conglomerates called on the government Thursday to resolve the ambiguity clouding the industrial landscape.

The CHOs of Samsung, SK Group, Hyundai Motor, LG Group and other top 10 conglomerates met with Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Young-hoon at a forum held at the FKI Tower Conference Center in Yeouido, Seoul, organized by the Korea Enterprises Federation. The gathering was convened to discuss expanding youth employment opportunities and pressing labor issues.

The forum was organized jointly by the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the business community to address youth job creation and related employment and labor concerns.

Korea Enterprises Federation Chairman Ryu Jin said in his opening remarks that solving the youth employment problem requires the government and businesses to move in the same direction, likening the effort to a three-legged race. "The business community will do its part to ensure the government's recently announced youth employment recovery plan is carried out successfully," he said.

He added that if the government lays the groundwork with policies suited to the AI era, the business community will widen that path by expanding youth job opportunities and work experience through new hiring and internship programs.

Kim thanked the conglomerates for their role in driving the country's core industries and creating quality jobs that have helped young people grow into skilled professionals. "Please continue to join us in improving the youth employment situation," he said.

In response, the CHOs said the government needs to create conditions that allow companies to hire young workers more actively.

They also conveyed the need to resolve uncertainty on the ground stemming from the revised union law's enforcement, and called for improvements to working-hours rules that take into account the characteristics of different industries and job types.

With legislative discussions on raising the mandatory retirement age under way, the CHOs also argued that any reform must comprehensively consider companies' workforce structures and wage systems, as well as their overall capacity to hire young workers.

They particularly stressed the need to design a system that enables flexible workforce management — including wage-peak schemes, job-based pay restructuring, and redeployment across roles and worksites — to allow companies to continue employing older workers.

The Korea Enterprises Federation said it plans to draw on the views expressed at the forum to formulate specific policy recommendations for the government, covering youth employment support expansion, continued employment of older workers, and labor market system reform to strengthen companies' hiring capacity.

The federation also announced plans to hold regional job fairs for young people in underserved areas in partnership with major member companies, and previewed a range of initiatives aimed at easing youth unemployment in the AI era.