Oct. 2 designated a one-off holiday to give a 10-day break

By Park Si-soo

The government has formally designated Oct. 2 a one-off holiday, putting in place the last piece of puzzle to make a 10-day break at the start of October

The consecutive holiday will begin on Sept. 30 (Saturday) and continue through Oct. 9 (Monday) with the back-to-back placement of three national holidays, two weekends and a one-off holiday.

The three national holidays are National Foundation Day (Oct. 3), Chuseok (Oct. 4-6) and Hangeul Day (Oct. 9).

President Moon Jae-in, who has pledged to tackle Korea's notoriously long working hours, confirmed the designation at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

Rep. Kim Jin-pyo, head of a presidential advisory panel, said in July that the government was considering designating Oct. 2 as a temporary holiday to give workers a long break.

On Wednesday, the chief of the ruling Democratic Party, Rep. Choo Mi-ae, also asked the government to make the designation.

Moon, a vocal advocate of "work less, play more," believes the long holiday will help boost people's quality of life and revitalize the economy.

Moon has already taken some days off to set an example, unlike his predecessor, who usually took short summer vacations only,

According to Hyundai Research Institute analysis, in 2015 when Aug. 14 was a temporary holiday, the estimated economic surplus on that day alone was nearly 2 trillion won.

This figure was based on the assumption that half of Korea's population, 25 million people, each spent an average of 79,600 won on the day.

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