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No more 'golden holiday': Most employees required to work day after Labor Day

Published: 23 Apr. 2025, 17:07

Travelers arrive at the domestic arrivals hall of Gimpo International Airport in Gangseo District, western Seoul, on May 6, 2024, the final day of the Children's Day holiday. [YONHAP]

For many office workers in Korea, one day stands out on the May calendar — May 2 — the Friday sandwiched between Children's Day and the preceding Labor Day.

Unlike the extended nine-day Lunar New Year in January, however, most employees of Korea's major companies are set to work that day, with few enjoying a full six-day “golden holiday.”

Most of 10 major conglomerates surveyed Wednesday by the JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily, revealed plans to operate as usual on May 2. Though May 1 is Labor Day, a paid holiday under Korean labor law but not a statutory public holiday, the government has decided not to designate May 2 as a temporary public holiday. As a result, most private companies are requiring employees to work that day.

Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor, Posco and Shinsegae (including Emart) are leaving May 2 up to employee discretion. In practice, this means normal operations, as these companies already allow the flexible use of annual leave. This contrasts with the Lunar New Year in January, during which companies such as Hyundai Motor, LG Electronics, Hanwha Solutions, Korean Air, LS and Doosan Enerbility declared Jan. 31 a company-wide holiday, creating an extended nine-day break.

Some firms are encouraging employees to take May 2 off, including SK Innovation, LG Electronics, Hanwha, HD Hyundai, GS Caltex, LS and Doosan.

“The company encourages employees to use their annual leave during bridge holidays. Many are expected to take May 2 off,” a representative from GS said.

Among the 10 top Korean conglomerates, Lotte, especially its mart and supermarket divisions, is the only group to officially designate May 2 a company-wide holiday.

The top 20 conglomerates would include Korean Air. The airline designates “sandwich days” — workdays between public holidays — as official holidays in advance. This year, those dates include not only May 2, but also Jan. 31 and Oct. 10, the Fridays following the Lunar New Year and the Chuseok harvest festival.

The difference in approach compared to January’s golden holiday stems largely from the nature of the Seollal holiday. With Seollal involved, the government had declared Jan. 27 a temporary public holiday, boosting the extended holiday atmosphere.

Major companies, such as Hyundai Motor and LG Electronics, also designate the workday following the Lunar New Year and the Chuseok harvest festival company-wide holidays, factoring in the large number of employees traveling.

Labor Day’s legal classification also plays a role. Though it is a paid holiday, it is not a statutory public holiday, which means employees who work that day can receive additional pay.

On to a 2024 survey job portal site Incruit conducted on 1,076 employees, 24.3 percent of respondents said they were scheduled to work on Labor Day. The number rose to 41.3 percent among workers at companies with fewer than five employees, compared to 14.9 percent at companies with more than 1,000 employees.

Of those who said they would work on Labor Day, 37.2 percent said they received neither holiday pay nor comp time in exchange.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY KIM KI-HWAN [[email protected]]