If You Take Annual Leave from May 2-4, It's a 'Golden Holiday'
Buddha's Birthday Also a Substitute Holiday, May 29 Holiday
Substitute Holidays Not Applied Only for New Year's Day and Memorial Day
With the expansion of substitute holidays applied to Buddha's Birthday (April 8th on the lunar calendar) and Christmas (December 25th), office workers are expected to be able to take up to 9 days off depending on when they use their annual leave.
On the 15th, the Ministry of Personnel Management announced a draft amendment to the "Regulations on Public Holidays of Government Offices," which will be publicly notified on the 16th. The public notice period will last until the 5th of next month. Afterward, it will go through the Ministry of Government Legislation review, Vice Minister and Cabinet meetings, and presidential approval before being promulgated in the official gazette.
Kim Seung-ho, head of the Ministry of Personnel Management, stated, "We hope this amendment will guarantee appropriate rest rights for the public and help stimulate consumption, local economies, and overall economic revitalization."
Accordingly, since this year's Buddha's Birthday falls on a Saturday, a substitute holiday will be applied, allowing people to take the following Monday (May 29th) off. This adds one more public holiday following Children's Day (May 5th). Christmas this year falls on a Monday, so it is not subject to substitute holiday application.
Office workers who can freely use their annual leave may enjoy what is called a "golden holiday." On Labor Day (May 1st), all workers in workplaces with five or more employees covered by the Labor Standards Act can take the day off, and this year Labor Day falls on a Monday. If they use annual leave on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday between this day and Friday, Children's Day, they can take up to 9 days off from Saturday, April 29th to Sunday, May 7th.
According to the Public Holidays Act, the government can designate a weekday as a substitute holiday if public holidays such as Lunar New Year and Chuseok fall on weekends or overlap with other public holidays. With this expansion of substitute holidays, only New Year's Day (January 1st) and Memorial Day (June 6th) remain as public holidays without substitute holiday application.
Substitute holidays were initially applied only to Lunar New Year, Chuseok holidays, and Children's Day in the first year of the system's implementation in 2014. However, due to high public approval, the application was expanded in 2021 to include Independence Movement Day (March 1st), Liberation Day (August 15th), National Foundation Day (October 3rd), and Hangul Day (October 9th).
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