42% of Gyeongbuk Companies Unable to Pay Lunar New Year Bonuses... 84% Observe 4-Day Lunar Holiday

Gyeongbuk Federation of Employers Surveys 189 Companies

The Gyeongbuk Employers Federation (Chairman Ko Byung-heon) analyzed the results of the '2024 Gyeongbuk Region Lunar New Year Holiday Closure Survey' conducted on 189 businesses with five or more employees in the Gyeongbuk area on the 6th. It found that the most common number of days off during the Lunar New Year holiday was '4 days,' accounting for 84.7% (160 companies), with an average holiday closure period of 3.86 days.

Among companies that responded their holiday closure period would be '3 days or less' (20 companies), the most common reason, at 65.0% (13 companies), was 'workload is not heavy, but working is unavoidable due to meeting deadlines, etc.' For companies that responded '5 days or more' (4 companies), 50% (2 companies) cited 'mandatory holiday closure according to collective agreements or employment rules (additional holidays granted)' rather than workload or cost issues.

Gyeongbuk Employers Federation.

Regarding plans to pay Lunar New Year bonuses, 57.7% (109 companies) responded they would pay, while 42.3% (80 companies) responded they would not.

Among 111 companies that paid Lunar New Year bonuses in 2023, 96.4% (107 companies) plan to pay bonuses again in 2024, while 3.6% (4 companies) plan not to pay.

Among 78 companies that did not pay Lunar New Year bonuses in 2023, 97.4% (76 companies) plan not to pay in 2024, and only 2.6% (2 companies) plan to pay.

Most companies showed similar performance in bonus payments last year and plans for this year.

Among the 109 companies planning to pay Lunar New Year bonuses, the most common payment method was 'payment only as regular bonuses (specified in collective agreements or employment rules)' at 56% (61 companies), followed by 'payment only separate bonuses at the employer's discretion, not regular bonuses' at 40.4% (44 companies).

Among companies that paid Lunar New Year bonuses last year but plan not to pay this year (4 companies), the main reason was 'deterioration of the company's payment capacity,' accounting for 75.0% (3 companies).

The Gyeongbuk Employers Federation surveyed companies about this year's Lunar New Year business conditions compared to the previous year. The highest response was 'about the same level' at 47.1% (89 companies), followed by 'worsened' at 37.6% (71 companies), and 'significantly worsened' at 9.5% (18 companies). Overall, more respondents expected the business conditions during this Lunar New Year to 'worsen' rather than 'improve.'

Regarding the outlook for business conditions in the first and second half of this year, 59.8% (113 companies) responded that conditions would be similar in both halves, 21.7% (41 companies) expected the second half to be better than the first, and 18.5% (35 companies) expected the second half to be worse than the first.

When asked about the biggest factors burdening achievement of this year's business performance (multiple responses allowed), the highest response was 'weak demand for products (services) due to economic recession' at 29.9%, followed by 'rising raw material prices' at 28.0%, and 'rising labor costs' at 27.5%.

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