'Half Red Day'... This Year's Christmas, New Year's Day, and Buddha's Birthday Fall on Weekends but 'Substitute Holidays' Not Applied

Seo Young-kyo, Chair of the Public Administration Committee: "Substitute Holidays Should Also Apply to New Year's Day, Buddha's Birthday, and Christmas"
"Originally Included in the National Assembly Bill but Excluded in the Government's Final Proposal"
"Research Shows Substitute Holidays Yield a Net Benefit of 8.8 Trillion KRW per Day"
Post-COVID Era to Serve as a Catalyst for Revitalizing Local Economies

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] Hangul Day, which almost disappeared from the 'red day' calendar due to overlapping with Saturday, will be a day off on the 11th following the passage of the 'Substitute Holiday Act' last May. However, Christmas, Buddha's Birthday, and New Year's Day on January 1st are not included in the applicable subjects, so Christmas on December 25th (Saturday), New Year's Day on January 1st (Saturday), and Buddha's Birthday on May 8th (Sunday) fall on weekends but will not have separate substitute holidays. Accordingly, voices calling for the expansion of the 'half-hearted substitute holiday' are emerging.

On the 10th, Seo Young-kyo, Chairperson of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee, held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Office and stated, "New Year's Day on January 1st, Buddha's Birthday, and Christmas should also be subject to substitute holidays."

According to the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee, the original bill passed by the National Assembly stated, "If a public holiday overlaps with Saturday, Sunday, or another public holiday, it can be designated and operated as a substitute holiday." It also explained that public holidays include national holidays, January 1st, Lunar New Year holidays, Buddha's Birthday, Children's Day, Memorial Day, Chuseok holidays, and Christmas. Accordingly, it was expected that 15 public holidays would be subject to substitute holidays.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

However, as a follow-up measure to the 'Public Holidays Act' passed by the National Assembly, the Ministry of Personnel Management announced a legislative notice for the revision of the 'Regulations on Public Holidays of Government Offices' (Presidential Decree), confirming that substitute holidays will only be applied when 'resting national holidays (March 1st Movement Day, Liberation Day, National Foundation Day, Hangul Day)' overlap with weekends. As a result, expectations that all public holidays could be taken off as substitute holidays were dashed.

Substitute holidays not only restore lost red days and help secure work-life balance but also have excellent economic revitalization effects. According to data released by Seo Young-kyo's office on the same day, a report titled 'Economic Ripple Effects of the Designation of the Temporary Holiday on August 17' published last year by Hyundai Research Institute showed that the production inducement amount affecting the entire economy on the temporary holiday was 4.2 trillion won, and the value-added inducement amount was 1.63 trillion won. The employment effect was about 36,000 people. The Korea Culture and Tourism Institute's 2010 report, 'Analysis of Economic Ripple Effects on the Improvement of Korea's Public Holiday System,' identified the net benefit of one day of substitute holiday as 8.8 trillion won, with a labor inducement effect of 48,000 people.

Source: Office of Assemblywoman Seo Young-kyo

Chairperson Seo Young-kyo said, "As vaccination proceeds smoothly, we are gradually preparing for the With-Corona era," adding, "In that case, upcoming substitute holidays will bring significant economic revitalization effects."

She continued, "We will continue discussions so that more people can benefit," expressing hope that "sales for self-employed individuals will increase, and workers will have time to recharge, improving competitiveness and productivity."

At the Ministry of Personnel Management's audit held on the 8th, Chairperson Seo also strongly demanded that substitute holidays be applied to New Year's Day, Buddha's Birthday, Constitution Day, and Christmas, which were not designated as substitute holidays.

Chairperson Seo emphasized, "Originally, these days were also supposed to be included in substitute holidays but were finally excluded," adding, "Countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan designate substitute holidays according to commemorative days." In response, Kim Woo-ho, head of the Ministry of Personnel Management, said, "I understand the intent well. We will study this matter."

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