"Workplace Discrimination" vs "Small Businesses Die" What Do You Think About Substitute Holidays Excluding Workplaces with Fewer Than 5 Employees?

'Substitute Holiday Act' Excludes Workplaces with Fewer Than 5 Employees
Concerns Over Conflict with Current Labor Standards Act
"Government's Complacency Draws Bitter Smiles" vs "Blow to Small Businesses" Controversy Grows

Seo Young-kyo, Chairperson of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee (right), is seen conversing with Park Jae-ho, the Democratic Party's floor leader, and other members regarding the passage of the Public Holidays Act during the plenary session held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 22nd. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] For Choi Mo (30), who works at a small advertising company in Gyeonggi-do, substitute holidays are more like a 'story from another country.' Always struggling with a shortage of hands, even if the entire staff works overnight, it is barely possible to meet the deadline. Choi said, "Our company is small with only four employees including myself, so there is no obligation to take every holiday off," adding, "If even one person is absent, the schedule gets disrupted, so taking a vacation is unimaginable."

The Democratic Party of Korea has passed a bill unilaterally designating all holidays that fall on weekends as substitute holidays. However, since small businesses with fewer than five employees are excluded from the application, controversy has erupted among citizens. Some argue that small businesses, which are exempt from various industrial regulations, desperately need rest, while others counter that additional burdens cannot be placed on small businesses already suffering from chronic labor shortages.

The National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee (PAS) held a plenary session on the 23rd and passed the "Act on Public Holidays" (Substitute Holiday Act) solely by the Democratic Party, forwarding it to the Legislation and Judiciary Committee (Legislation Committee).

If this bill passes the Legislation Committee and the plenary session of the National Assembly scheduled for June, substitute holidays, which were previously applied only to Children's Day and the Lunar New Year and Chuseok holidays, will be expanded to all other public holidays.

Earlier, on the 15th, Yoon Ho-jung, the Democratic Party floor leader, explained the reason for the bill at the party's floor countermeasure meeting, saying, "We will return the lost red days," and "This year, there were so many holidays overlapping with weekends that many office workers sighed from the beginning of the year, calling it a drought of holidays."

He added, "The Democratic Party will promptly handle the substitute holiday bill pending in the June National Assembly," emphasizing, "The designation of substitute holidays is an irresistible demand of the times." If the Substitute Holiday Act passes the plenary session, a total of four public holidays, including Liberation Day this year, will be designated as substitute holidays, increasing the number of 'red days' by four.

So-called 'Substitute Holiday Act' does not apply to small businesses employing fewer than five employees. / Photo by Yonhap News

The problem lies in the exclusion of 'businesses with fewer than five employees' from the application of the Substitute Holiday Act. The Democratic Party excluded businesses with fewer than five employees from the bill due to concerns about conflicts with the Labor Standards Act.

Under the current Labor Standards Act, businesses with fewer than five employees are not subject to paid leave. If such businesses were included in the Substitute Holiday Act, there could be conflicts between the two laws.

This aspect of the bill immediately drew criticism from political circles and labor groups. On the 23rd, members of the People Power Party in the PAS issued a statement saying, "Is this now a case of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer even with holidays?" and condemned, "The National Assembly should not irresponsibly handle the bill like this."

Earlier, labor groups also voiced opposition. On the 21st, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions held a press conference in front of the National Assembly in Yeouido, criticizing, "Consideration for workers in businesses with fewer than five employees is again missing in the ruling party's expansion of substitute holidays," and "It is laughable how complacent the National Assembly, political circles, and government are when they should be protecting the socially vulnerable."

Those who criticize the Substitute Holiday Act point to the poor working conditions of workers in small businesses with fewer than five employees.

Currently, the Labor Standards Act applies to workplaces employing five or more regular workers. Accordingly, businesses with fewer than five employees are exempt from obligations such as △payment of additional wages for overtime, night, and holiday work △provision of annual leave and menstrual leave △the 52-hour workweek, among others. In other words, workers in small businesses working under much harsher conditions than large and medium-sized enterprises are the ones who desperately need substitute holidays.

On the morning of the 21st, officials from the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and others held a press conference in front of the National Assembly in Seoul, urging the guarantee of equal rights to rest for workers at workplaces with fewer than five employees. / Photo by Yonhap News

On the other hand, the business community opposes the expansion of substitute holidays, arguing it could deal a blow to small and medium-sized enterprises. The Korea Employers Federation stated in a commentary on the 22nd, "If the basis for expanding substitute holidays is established, the impact on industrial sites, especially medium and small enterprises, will be significant," urging, "To avoid production crises and employment reductions, labor and management must work together to enhance corporate competitiveness."

Amid this situation, public opinion on the Substitute Holiday Act was divided.

A in their 20s, working at a medium-sized company in Seoul, said, "A statutory holiday is a day established for all citizens to rest. Is it fair that some people rest while others have to keep working?" emphasizing, "Regardless of company size, I believe it is right to apply red days uniformly."

Another office worker, B (29), said, "Many small businesses are effectively exempted under the Labor Standards Act and the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, and most safety accidents happen in such businesses," arguing, "If exceptions like this are made, it will only sacrifice workers."

Conversely, there was a rebuttal that it is an unavoidable measure for the survival of small businesses. C, in their 40s, who runs a self-employed business, lamented, "Small businesses are different from general companies. There are many cases where the owner earns less than the employees," adding, "In these difficult times, we need to find a way to live by making small concessions together, but it feels upsetting that only workers' convenience is being unilaterally considered."

Experts suggested that flexible negotiations among directly affected stakeholders are necessary due to the expansion of public holidays.

Professor Kim Taegi of Dankook University's Department of Economics pointed out, "If forced to rest on statutory holidays, small and medium-sized enterprises will inevitably suffer," explaining, "Most of these companies are labor-intensive industries relying heavily on manpower."

He added, "While many employees may want to rest, there may also be those who want to work for additional pay," advising, "The expansion of holidays is a matter of agreement among affected parties, and the government should not directly intervene to restrict the economic choices of employers and employees."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.