No extra holiday expected for Chuseok, dimming hopes for 10-day break

Visitors line up for check-in at Incheon International Airport, Jan. 26. Newsis

The government appears unlikely to designate Oct. 10 as a temporary public holiday, a move that would have extended this year’s Chuseok festival to 10 consecutive days.

The move comes despite President Lee Jae Myung’s call last week for proactive steps to boost domestic demand during the Chuseok holiday period, as officials worry the longer break could drive more outbound travel than local spending and cut working days.

Korean media reported Friday that the government is currently not considering designating Oct. 10 as a temporary public holiday, citing concerns that it could dampen domestic demand and negatively affect exports and industrial output due to fewer working days.

With the Chuseok holiday period overlapping with National Foundation Day and Hangul Day this year, the holiday spans a full seven days. If Friday, Oct. 10, were designated as a temporary public holiday, the break would extend by an additional three days with the weekend, making it a 10-day stretch.

Under Korean law, the government can designate temporary public holidays as needed. In recent years, it has occasionally done so around major holidays like Lunar New Year or Chuseok to extend breaks and spur domestic spending. Earlier this year, Jan. 27 was designated a temporary holiday during the Lunar New Year period, creating a six-day holiday.

However, as such holidays grow longer, they increasingly prompt outbound travel rather than spurring domestic spending. According to the National Assembly Research Service, outbound travelers in January surpassed 2.97 million — a 7.3 percent rise from a year earlier and the highest monthly figure on record — while spending on domestic travel fell 1.8 percent year-on-year to 3 trillion won ($2.158 billion).

An increase in public holidays has led to a reduction in working days, in turn contributing to a decline in exports. In January this year, the number of working days fell to 20 due to the extended Lunar New Year break, four days fewer than the same month last year. As a result, outbound shipments totaled $49.13 billion, down 10.2 percent year-on-year.

The designation of temporary public holidays has also raised concerns about inequality in time off, as businesses with fewer than five employees are only subject to limited labor regulations, and the provision on temporary holidays is not among them. According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, some 3.34 million people were employed at small workplaces as of 2022.

A last-minute designation still remains possible. Earlier this year, the government declared Jan. 27 a holiday only two weeks in advance.