Can We Have One More Day Off This Buddha's Birthday?

Government to Expand Substitute Holidays... Business Community Expected to Oppose

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] As the government announced plans to expand substitute holidays this year, interest is growing over whether people can get an extra day off when holidays overlap with weekends.

According to the Ministry of Personnel Management on the 31st, among the current 15 public holidays, substitute holidays apply to 11 days including Seollal (Lunar New Year), Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving), Children's Day, and national foundation days. Currently, New Year's Day (January 1), Buddha's Birthday (lunar April 8), Memorial Day (June 6), and Christmas (December 25) are not subject to substitute holidays.

A substitute holiday is a system where if a public holiday falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or overlaps with another public holiday, a weekday is designated as a holiday instead. When the system was first implemented in September 2014, it applied only to Seollal, Chuseok, and Children's Day.

However, as support for substitute holidays grew, public opinion favored a full expansion of substitute holidays. In June 2021, the "Public Holidays Act," which designates all public holidays as substitute holidays, passed the National Assembly, but the subsequent amendment to the "Regulations on Public Holidays for Government Offices" limited the expansion to national foundation day holidays. Accordingly, since last year, substitute holidays have been expanded only to March 1st Movement Day, Liberation Day, National Foundation Day, and Hangul Day.

On the afternoon of the 19th of last month, citizens are selecting 2023 diaries and calendars at a large bookstore in Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The renewed public opinion for expanding substitute holidays was sparked by Joo Ho-young, the floor leader of the People Power Party. At the end of last year, ahead of Christmas and New Year's Day, Floor Leader Joo officially proposed to the government to consider expanding substitute holidays, saying, "Considering domestic demand stimulation, expansion of citizens' rest rights, and requests from religious groups, it is time for the government to review the designation of substitute holidays."

The government responded immediately. The "2023 Economic Policy Direction" announced on the 21st of last month included plans to designate Christmas and Buddha's Birthday as substitute holidays to revitalize local economies and guarantee leisure rights.

If the substitute holiday system is expanded and revised this time, Buddha's Birthday (May 27, Saturday) will be the first case to apply this year. New Year's Day has already passed, and Memorial Day and Christmas fall on weekdays. However, since Memorial Day is a day to honor the patriotic martyrs, it is highly likely that it will not be designated as a substitute holiday.

However, opposition from the business community still remains. The business sector argues that expanding substitute holidays will increase paid holidays, which will raise the management burden on small and micro enterprises and lead to employment reductions. The Korea Federation of SMEs issued a statement at the time of the enactment of the Public Holidays Act, urging to minimize the expansion of substitute holidays due to production disruptions caused by insufficient working hours and rapid increases in labor costs.