Constitution Day Reinstated as a Public Holiday After 18 Years

Amendment to the Act on Public Holidays Passes Cabinet Council

Constitution Day will be designated as a public holiday again for the first time in 18 years.

Yonhap News Agency

On the 3rd, the Ministry of Personnel Management announced that an amendment to the Act on Public Holidays, which designates Constitution Day as a public holiday, was submitted to and approved by the Cabinet Council.

Constitution Day, which commemorates July 17, 1948, when the Constitution of the Republic of Korea was proclaimed, was designated as both a national holiday and a public holiday in 1949. However, it was excluded from the list of public holidays starting in 2008 due to adjustments to public holidays following the introduction of the five-day workweek.

With the passage of the amendment, all five major national holidays - Independence Movement Day (March 1), Constitution Day, Liberation Day, National Foundation Day, and Hangeul Proclamation Day - are now public holidays.

Since last year’s 77th Constitution Day, the government has been promoting the re-designation of Constitution Day as a public holiday in order to provide an opportunity each year to recall the values of the Constitution and to reflect on its principles, including popular sovereignty.

The Ministry of Personnel Management explained, "With this amendment to the Act on Public Holidays having been approved by the Cabinet Council, we plan to swiftly proceed with follow-up measures, such as revising the Regulations on Public Holidays for Government Offices."