Buddha's Birthday and Christmas Substitute Holidays Confirmed... Three-Day Holiday from May 27 to 29

by Bae Kyunghwan

Published 02 May.2023 11:25(KST)

Updated 02 May.2023 13:40(KST)

President Yoon Presides Over Cabinet Meeting to Approve 'Amendment to Regulations on Public Holidays'

Buddha's Birthday (lunar April 8) and Christmas Day (solar December 25) have been officially confirmed as substitute holidays. Starting from this year's Buddha's Birthday (May 27), the substitute holiday (May 29) will be applied, allowing for a three-day holiday.

The Ministry of Personnel Management announced on the 2nd that the amendment to the "Regulations on Public Holidays for Government Offices (Presidential Decree)" was passed at the Cabinet meeting presided over by President Yoon Suk-yeol. The amended law will be published in the official gazette within this week after the president's approval and will take effect immediately.

On the 8th, the Buddha's Birthday celebration ceremony was held at Jogyesa Temple in Jongno-gu, Seoul, marking the year 2566 in the Buddhist calendar. Photo by Jang Jin-hyeong aymsdream@

According to related laws, the government can designate substitute holidays when public holidays such as Lunar New Year and Chuseok holidays fall on Saturdays, Sundays, or overlap with other public holidays. When a public holiday falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or overlaps with another public holiday, the next first non-holiday weekday becomes the substitute holiday.

This year's Buddha's Birthday falls on a Saturday, so the substitute holiday will be applied on the following Monday, the 29th, allowing people to take a day off. Christmas Day falls on a Monday, so a three-day holiday can be enjoyed from the preceding Saturday, the 23rd. As a result, the only public holidays without substitute holidays applied are New Year's Day (January 1) and Memorial Day (June 6). The substitute holiday system is in operation for Lunar New Year and Chuseok holidays, March 1st Movement Day (March 1), Children's Day (May 5), Liberation Day (August 15), National Foundation Day (October 3), and Hangul Day (October 9).

Kim Seung-ho, head of the Ministry of Personnel Management, stated, "We hope that the expansion of substitute holidays will contribute to revitalizing domestic consumption by aligning with the government's various policy efforts to improve conditions for domestic tourism and consumption."