Ruling Party Woos Voters with More Holidays

The ruling Minjoo Party is promising voters more holidays this year by pushing through a bill that has been moldering on the books for some time.

The plan is to introduce more substitute holidays if a bank holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday.

Currently only Lunar New Year, Chuseok and Children's Day are substituted the following weekday if they fall on a weekend. The first holiday to benefit will be Liberation Day on Aug. 15, which is a Sunday this year.

"Many workers were disappointed because too many public holidays fall on a weekend this year," MP floor leader Yun Ho-jung said in a party meeting Tuesday. "We're going to pass the pending bill in June to give the missing holidays back to the people."

The main opposition People Power Party welcomed the move and said it would not oppose it.

This year, five public holidays -- Memorial Day (June 6), Liberation Day (Aug. 15), National Foundation Day (Oct. 3), Hangeul Day (Oct. 9), and Christmas Day -- fall on a weekend.

Buddha's Birthday (Wednesday, May 19) was the last public holiday that fell on a weekday this year. The only coming public holiday that falls on weekdays this year is Chuseok on Sept. 21-23, which are Monday through Wednesday. There are a total of 113 days off this year, two fewer than last year and four fewer than 2019.

The plan has irked some businesses, which say they lose vital production.