Seoul: The Cabinet on Tuesday approved significant revisions to the Commercial Act and a labor bill, both aimed at enhancing rights for minority shareholders and subcontract workers, respectively.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the revision to the Commercial Act mandates cumulative voting for large listed companies with assets of 2 trillion won (US$1.43 billion) or more. It also requires a minimum of two separate elections for audit committee members, a change from the previous requirement of just one. These updates will be effective one year after promulgation. This follows a July revision that extended the fiduciary duty of corporate board members to encompass all shareholders.

The newly approved labor bill, referred to as the "yellow envelope law," aims to expand the rights of indirectly employed subcontractors. It also seeks to limit employers' ability to claim damages from workers participating in strikes. This law is set to take effect six months after its promulgation.

President Lee Jae Myung, who led the Cabinet meeting, emphasized that these legislative changes are designed to improve transparency in corporate management and foster a co-prosperous relationship between labor and management. He also called for follow-up measures to mitigate any potential negative impacts from the new regulations.

In addition to these revisions, the Cabinet approved three broadcasting bills. These bills are intended to reform governance at public broadcasters, such as MBC and EBS, by increasing the number of board directors and allowing broader media groups to recommend members. These labor and broadcasting revisions were previously scrapped under the conservative Yoon Suk Yeol administration but were resubmitted and passed by the Democratic Party-controlled parliament last month.