Gwangyang Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Survey on Bonus Payments During Seol Holiday

Response Companies 77.5% Observe 4-Day Seollal Holiday, 90.0% Plan Bonus Payments

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik] Among companies in the Gwangyang-si area of Jeollanam-do, 77.5% plan to observe holidays during this year's Lunar New Year, with most companies (77.5%) taking 4 days off, and 90.0% of companies surveyed plan to provide bonuses.

The Gwangyang Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Chairman Lee Baek-gu) conducted a survey from January 9 to 13 (5 days) targeting local small and medium-sized enterprises with 10 to 300 regular employees regarding Lunar New Year holidays and bonus payments. The results showed that 77.5% of all companies plan to observe holidays.

Among the 22.5% of companies not observing holidays, 88.9% cited shift work and 11.1% cited delivery deadlines as reasons.

Regarding plans to pay Lunar New Year bonuses, 90.0% (88.9% in 2022) stated they would pay bonuses, while 10.0% (11.1% in 2021) said they had no plans to do so.

The forms of Lunar New Year bonus payments were evenly split at 50.0% each between "regular bonus payments" and "fixed amount payments."

Among companies paying regular bonuses, those paying "50% of the regular salary" and "100% of the regular salary" each accounted for 40%, the highest proportions. Companies paying fixed amounts distributed bonuses in the following order: 500,000 KRW (33.3%), 1,000,000 KRW (28.6%), 700,000 KRW (4.8%), 300,000 KRW (19.0%), and 200,000 KRW (14.3%).

For companies not paying bonuses, 100% responded that they substitute with separate gifts or similar alternatives.

Meanwhile, this year's financial conditions during the Lunar New Year holiday were reported as "the same as last year" (60.0%), "worse than last year" (35.0%), and "better than last year" (5.0%). Although financial conditions have worsened compared to last year, the bonus payments remain at a similar scale to previous years.

Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik hss79@asiae.co.kr