A substitute public holiday system is a system in which if a holiday overlaps with a weekend, the government designates the following Monday a holiday to ensure the number of public holidays. Implementing a substitute pubic holiday system is a controversial issue.

Pro

A substitute public holiday system was an election pledge of both the ruling party and the opposition party in the last presidential election. President Park Geun-hye included it as a major government project. Nowadays, people argue about the system. From my point of view, a substitute public holiday system should be legalized.

First of all, office workers can improve the quality of their life and productivity. Korean office workers’ working hours come second among OECD countries, but labor productivity comes 23rd, a low ranking. Actually, 90% of office workers agree with a substitute public holiday system because they can increase their quality of life. They don’t have time to rest because of their working time. A substitute public holiday system can assure their holiday to refresh them. Then they can increase productivity. For example, Yuhan-Kimberly made 4 teams and did a double-shift work system. It gave workers an opportunity to rest and it improved company productivity.

Second, profit in the leisure industry will be created and the domestic economy will be advanced. According to the Bank of Korea Jeju, if a substitute public holiday system is implemented, the number of tourists visiting Jeju Island will increase by about 820,000 people in five years. Also, Jeju travel sector profit will increase from 213.9 billion won to 417.4 billion won. In addition, from a Korea Culture and Tourism Institute report, with the introduction of the system, people are expected to spend 1.5 days more in traveling or leisure activities. If the whole nation enjoyed leisure activities for 1.5 days more, people would spend an extra 2.8 billion won. As such, a substitute public holiday system will advance the domestic economy and develop the leisure industry.

Third, the danger of accidents will be decreased at Chuseok and Lunar New Year. When Saturday and Sunday are included in the period, the number of cars is more than usual, and roads are congested. Extreme road congestion increases the danger of accidents. According to research by the Korea Transportation Security Authority, the number of accidents on three-day holidays is 431, whereas the number of accidents on five-day holidays is 480. If a substitute public holiday system is introduced, the danger of accidents will be decreased.

By enacting a substitute public holiday system, office workers can improve their quality of life and productivity, leisure industry profit will increase, the domestic economy will be advanced, and the danger of accidents will decline at Chuseok and Lunar New Year. Therefore, I agree with the enactment of a substitute public holiday system.



Con


Children’s day in 2013 was on a Sunday. Like this, sometimes, we have a holiday overlapping with a Sunday, which means we take a rest for only a day. Therefore, a substitute public holiday system has emerged as an alternative to a holiday overlapping with a Sunday. This system is taking a day of the week off when we have a holiday on a Sunday. However, the system has several problems like an increase in overtime work and going to work early, making day laborers feel the gap between the poor and the rich, and having more holidays than other developed countries.

The first problem is an increase in overtime work and going to work early because of delayed work. For example, if a company takes a rest on Monday, all the work that the company had to finish on Monday will be delayed to Tuesday. Workers in the company have to finish Tuesday’s work and the delayed work together. Therefore, workers must do a night shift or go to work earlier than usual to finish the delayed work. These can cause health problems like heavy stress. Scientists at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health said this stress can be a main cause of heart disease.

The second problem is making day laborers feel the gap between the poor and the rich. Day laborers are usually poor. Therefore, even if a substitute public holiday system is implemented, they will not take a rest day, worrying about getting financial damage. It will just make day laborers feel bad because they have to work when many people don’t work.

The third problem is the number of holidays is already enough. According to the Korea Employers Federation, the number of legal holidays in Korea is sixteen including Labor Day and a full three days on both Chooseok and Lunar New Year. Sixteen is a higher number than other developed countries. For example, Germany has eight and France eleven days of holidays. Furthermore, if we add the 104 days of Saturday and Sunday and annual paid vacation, which is usually from 15 to 25 days, the number of holidays is longer than other developed countries, second after France. Therefore, if we increase the number of holidays with a substitute public holiday system, it will cause financial loss to many enterprises. The Korea Employers Federation said the system will cause 32 trillion won in financial loss.

A substitute public holiday system is not the answer. The government has to find alternatives first rather than implementing a substitute public holiday system hastily. If the government can’t find alternatives to solve these problems, a substitute public holiday system must not be implemented.