As the Chuseok golden holiday approaches, there is heightened anticipation for October 10 to be designated as a temporary holiday, but the government has stated, 'We have not reviewed it.' October 10 has been mentioned as the last piece of the puzzle for a golden holiday that allows for a maximum of 10 days off.
According to the government on the 17th, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the competent authority, has reportedly not reviewed the plan to designate October 10 as a temporary holiday. The designation of temporary holidays requires a request from the relevant ministry so that the Ministry of Personnel Management can present it as an agenda item at the cabinet meeting; however, the Ministry of Personnel Management has also stated that it has not received any request for the temporary holiday designation from the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
If October 10 is designated as a temporary holiday, it would allow for a ten-day break from the National Foundation Day on October 3 to the weekend on the 12th.
However, the government is being cautious about this temporary holiday designation due to past cases where designating temporary holidays did not lead to domestic consumption revitalization. Earlier this year, the government designated January 27 as a temporary holiday to allow for a maximum of six days off for the Lunar New Year holiday.
However, the result was an increase in overseas travel rather than domestic consumption revitalization. At that time, the number of overseas travelers reached 2.97 million, the highest on record. Domestic tourism expenditure decreased by 7.4% compared to the previous month and 1.8% compared to the same period last year.
Exports and production were also affected due to a reduced number of working days. The number of working days in January this year was 20, a decrease of four days compared to last year. Consequently, the exports for that month recorded $49.1 billion, a decrease of 10.2% compared to the same month of the previous year.
However, there remains a possibility that the government could designate a temporary holiday close to the Chuseok holiday. This year, the temporary holiday for the Lunar New Year was confirmed through a cabinet meeting 13 days before the designation.