민주화 이후 노동법안은 얼마나 제안되고 어떻게 처리되었나: 제13-20대 환경노동위원회 노동법률안 분석

초록

This study analyzes labor bills proposed over the 33 years since the democratization of South Korea, examining their changing patterns and contexts. We collected data on 2,867 labor bills submitted to the Environment and Labor Committee from the 13th to 20th National Assembly. The analysis reveals a substantial growth in the scale of labor bill proposals since the 17th National Assembly. Although not matching this rate of increase, the number of bills that were enacted or incorporated into other legislation also showed a notable increase. Assembly members, rather than the executive branch, were the primary drivers of this increase in bill proposals, influenced by both institutional and political factors. Building on institutional changes that relaxed bill proposal requirements, the development of performance evaluation metrics intensified legislative competition between assembly members. During the 17th Assembly, political factors, such as the emergence of the Democratic Labor Party and regime changes, amplified the partisan nature of labor issues, stimulating legislative activities. Around the 18th Assembly, as quantitative systems for evaluating legislative performance have became widespread within parties, members of democratic bloc parties, who have greater affinity with labor issues, have increasingly adopted labor as their primary legislative field amid growing institutional pressure on members' legislative activities. With the dramatic increase in proposed bills, over 70% have been automatically terminated since the 18th Assembly. The internal and external conditions driving legislative competition have strengthened the tendency for legislators’ responses to social issues individually rather than through party coordination. This study contributes to research on labor legislation and labor politics by providing systematic empirical data on long-term trends in labor bill proposals and their legislative outcomes.

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