Election Office Public Officials' 'Right to Rest' Guaranteed by Law

Legislative Notice on Service Regulations for Local and National Public Officials from 7th to 15th

From the general election on April 10, the rest rights of public officials engaged in election duties will be guaranteed by law.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Ministry of Personnel Management announced on the 6th that they will give legislative notice from the 7th to the 15th on partial amendments to the 'Local Public Officials Service Regulations' and the 'National Public Officials Service Regulations' reflecting this content.

The amendment stipulates that public officials working as election supervisors, election staff, and vote counting staff on official election days, including early voting days, will be granted one day off. If the election duty falls on a Saturday or a public holiday, an additional day off will be provided. The purpose is to provide sufficient rest to public officials who work more than 15 hours during legal holidays, either at dawn or late at night.

On October 11 last year, the by-election day for the Mayor of Gangseo-gu, Seoul, voters are casting their ballots at the 9th polling station in Banghwa 1-dong, Gangseo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Looking at the 22nd general election, if a public official works on the early voting day, Friday, April 5, they will receive one day off; working on Saturday, April 6, grants two days off. Similarly, working on election day, Wednesday, April 10, also entitles them to two days off.

Until now, public officials involved in election duties had no regulations regarding days off despite working long hours. Election supervisors and election staff start work at least one hour before voting begins at 6 a.m. and can leave after organizing the polling station post 6 p.m. Vote counting staff also leave after midnight when counting is completed.

Once the amendment is enforced, heads of national institutions and local governments must mandatorily grant days off to public officials engaged in election duties. This establishes a common standard for leave days, which previously varied by local government. With rest rights institutionally guaranteed, the government expects increased participation of public officials in election duties, alleviating their workload.

The amendment is scheduled to be implemented next month after collecting public opinions through legislative notice and is expected to be applied for the first time to early voting supervisors and early voting staff working on the early voting day, May 5.

Lee Sang-min, Minister of the Interior and Safety, stated, "Election duties require fair and strict management and a high level of responsibility, so the role of public officials is important," adding, "I thank the hundreds of thousands of public officials nationwide who work hard for election duties and ask for strict and fair handling of their tasks."