South Korea's business lobby groups said Tuesday that they will file a petition with lawmakers to enact a law intended for more sweeping labor reforms, saying that the recently agreed-upon deal falls far short of expectations.

On Sunday, the tripartite committee consisting of government, business and labor leaders agreed to cooperate in resolving such issues as differentiated salaries for regular and non-regular workers, improving jobless benefits, clarifying the definition of customary salary and reducing the overall working hours.

The agreement was reached after months of tense negotiations.

On Monday, a major umbrella labor group approved the deal.

"Though the deal was reached after many challenges, it falls far short of a reform that can tackle youth jobless problems and create a fair and flexible labor market," the lobby groups said in a joint statement.

The lobbies, including the Federation of Korean Industries and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, singled out a term in the deal where they agreed to clarify necessary procedures "based on current law and legal precedents" when revising or terminating employment contracts with workers.

Currently, companies can terminate employees' contracts only when they are either involved in a corruption or an embezzlement case. Firms are also permitted to lay off a number of workers should they face serious financial difficulties.

"We cannot but express our concerns as (this) will solidify existing inflexibly rather than enhancing the overall flexibility in the labor market," they said.

"At a time when it turns out that a genuine labor reform has become impossible through the tripartite committee agreement, we will make the last attempt for labor reforms in the areas deemed to be insufficient through a petition with the National Assembly to enact a law," they added.

The lobbies said they will keep working to create a fair and flexible labor market where employees can be paid in accordance with their performance and achievements. (Yonhap)