Ruling Party Switches Position After One Year... The Political Calculations Behind 'Substitute Holidays'

Democratic Party "We Will Return the Red Days" Introduces Substitute Holidays
People Power Party, Initially Opposed as "Hasty Enforcement" a Year Ago, Now Admits "Effective"
Will It Become a Card for President Yoon Seok-yeol's Approval Rating Rebound?

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] As the government and ruling party actively move to include Christmas and Buddha's Birthday as substitute holidays, starting next year, people will be able to take a day off from Buddha's Birthday (May 27, Saturday). This was swiftly realized after the ruling party, the People Power Party, proposed the expansion of substitute holidays and the government accepted it just one day later. Accordingly, the number of public holidays next year will increase from the existing 13 days to 14 days.

Meanwhile, the next year's budget bill, which should have been finalized before the end of this year, has been stagnant throughout December. Although it is a government enforcement decree, compared to the progress of the budget bill, the move to expand substitute holidays is lightning-fast. It is hard not to question why the government focused on expanding substitute holidays amid the tense budget negotiations between the ruling and opposition parties.

"We will return the red days" Substitute holidays proposed by the Democratic Party ahead of the presidential and local elections... criticized as "hasty passage" at the time

The expansion of substitute holidays was promoted by the then-ruling Democratic Party in June last year and applied starting from August 15, Liberation Day. The bill was introduced to guarantee a life with rest and to stimulate domestic demand, but it was criticized because workplaces with fewer than five employees were excluded from the application, and concerns were raised that it could entrench a dual structure in the labor market amid the economic crisis caused by COVID-19 and the rise in minimum wage.

At a public hearing on the "Legislation for the Legalization of Public Holidays" held by the National Assembly's Administrative and Security Committee, the Korea Employers Federation (KEF) stated that recent reductions in working hours and expansions of vacation and holiday systems have increased the burden on companies, and argued that it would be better to use the current system such as annual leave for rest rights.

The People Power Party also now cites reasons such as stimulating domestic demand, guaranteeing citizens' rest rights, and requests from religious communities to designate Christmas and Buddha's Birthday as substitute holidays, but their stance was different just a year ago. At that time, Lee Young, a member of the National Assembly's Administrative and Security Committee from the People Power Party, said, "There should be data simulating the impact on small and medium-sized enterprises or small business owners, but there is none," and added, "It should not be made so irresponsibly." In a press conference held by People Power Party members of the Administrative and Security Committee, criticism was voiced that "We regret the hasty, unilateral, and forced passage by the Democratic Party. It was pushed through without proper economic review and with a hasty examination."

However, within just one year, has the feared negative impact turned into a positive 'effect' of expanding substitute holidays?

In the ruling People Power Party this year, it was said, "After examining the effects since the introduction of the substitute holiday system, it is evaluated that there are clear domestic demand stimulation effects in retail, travel, and dining industries, and it is effective for the rest enjoyed by the people. It is time for the government to consider expanding the designation of substitute holidays" (Joo Ho-young, floor leader, at the floor strategy meeting on the 20th). The government, which said it would "positively consider" it, immediately included this in the '2023 Economic Policy Direction' the next day. On the 21st, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho said at a joint briefing with related ministries, "We will add Christmas and Buddha's Birthday to the scope of substitute holidays."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The 'vote-catching card' the Democratic Party aimed for, now a 'support rate rebound card' for the Yoon government

When the Democratic Party pushed for the expansion of substitute holidays last year, the 5th nationwide disaster relief fund was also discussed. The then-opposition People Power Party criticized this as a policy aimed at winning votes ahead of the presidential election in March and local elections in June the following year. However, with the change of power this year, the ruling People Power Party also ultimately gains 'votes' through the expansion of substitute holidays.

According to a regular public opinion poll by Realmeter (conducted via ARS automated response from December 12 to 16 on 2,509 adults aged 18 and over nationwide commissioned by Media Tribune, with a sampling error of ±2.0 percentage points at a 95% confidence level), President Yoon Suk-yeol's approval rating surpassed 40% for the first time in five months, recording 41.1%. After stagnating in the 30% range due to adverse events such as the Itaewon tragedy, the approval rating reversed its trend following the government's firm response to the Cargo Solidarity strike with work commencement orders.

Changes are also seen in the People Power Party's party support rate. In the same survey, the People Power Party's support rate was 41.4%, recovering to the 40% range for the first time in about five months since the first week of July. The gap with the Democratic Party has narrowed to 2.3 percentage points for four consecutive weeks.

This substitute holiday expansion card may accelerate the rising support rates of the government and ruling party. However, returning to the perspective that criticized last year's expansion as 'hasty' without in-depth discussion, it seems necessary this time to apply the expansion of substitute holidays more carefully. At that time, the exclusion of workplaces with fewer than five employees was pointed out as a limitation.

It is time to recall the Justice Party's statement at the time: "The National Assembly must actively amend the Labor Standards Act to prevent discrimination and exclusion in the basic labor rights and rest rights of labor citizens."

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