What Are The Public Holidays in South Korea in 2026?

List of Public Holidays in South Korea (2026)

South Korea sets public holidays at the national level, so the same dates apply across the country. The table below lists the main statutory public holidays for 2026, including substitute days where applicable.

Do Employers Have to Provide Paid Leave on Public Holidays?

Yes, for employees covered by South Korea’s Labor Standards Act, employers generally have to provide paid leave on designated public holidays that are recognized as “paid public holidays” for that workplace. This obligation clearly applies to weekly paid holidays and to public holidays that have been incorporated into the business’s rules of employment or collective agreements, and for many employers it now includes the main national holidays listed above.

In practice, most full-time employees in the private sector receive paid days off on these national holidays. If your company requires an employee to work on a public holiday that is otherwise a paid day off, you must provide premium pay in addition to the employee’s ordinary wages. The exact rate depends on whether the work is treated as holiday work, overtime work, or both, but it will be higher than the normal hourly rate.

Part-time employees are entitled to paid public holidays on a pro rata basis if they regularly work on the day of the week on which the holiday falls and are otherwise covered by the Labor Standards Act. If a part-time employee does not normally work on that day, there is usually no entitlement to an additional paid day off unless your internal policies provide one.

When a public holiday falls on a weekend, South Korea’s substitute holiday system designates a weekday as the observed day for many major holidays, such as Independence Movement Day and National Foundation Day in 2026. For covered employers, the substitute day is treated as the paid holiday instead of the original calendar date.

Legal Penalties for Not Providing Paid Holiday Leave

Failing to provide paid public holidays or the correct premium pay for holiday work can expose your company to administrative orders, back-pay claims, and criminal penalties under the Labor Standards Act. The Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) is the main enforcement authority and can investigate complaints, order corrective measures, and refer serious violations for prosecution.

If you do not pay required holiday wages, employees can claim unpaid wages for a statutory limitation period, and courts may order you to pay the outstanding amounts plus potential additional damages or interest. In more serious or repeated cases, responsible managers can face fines, and in some circumstances imprisonment is possible under the Act.

Common employer mistakes include treating public holidays as unpaid leave despite having incorporated them into rules of employment, failing to apply substitute holidays, misclassifying holiday work as regular overtime, and excluding part-time or fixed-term staff who are actually covered by the Labor Standards Act. To reduce risk, you should keep written rules of employment up to date, clearly define which holidays are paid, and ensure payroll systems correctly calculate holiday and premium rates.

How Do Holidays Affect Overtime Thresholds?

In South Korea, work performed on a public holiday that is a paid day off is generally treated as holiday work and attracts premium pay on top of ordinary wages. Where holiday work also exceeds normal daily or weekly working hours, both overtime and holiday premiums may apply, resulting in a higher combined rate. The Labor Standards Act sets limits on weekly working hours, and work beyond those limits is overtime regardless of whether it occurs on a holiday.

For employees covered by the Act, you must track working hours carefully on public holidays. If an employee works on a holiday but stays within their standard weekly hours, you still owe the applicable holiday premium. If they exceed standard hours, you must apply overtime rules as well. Night work during holidays can also trigger additional premiums. Because the exact calculations can be complex and subject to regulatory guidance, many employers rely on local payroll experts or legal counsel to confirm the correct multipliers.

Part-time and flexible-schedule employees are not exempt from these protections simply because they work fewer hours. If they are covered by the Labor Standards Act and work on a paid public holiday, they are generally entitled to the relevant holiday and overtime premiums based on their contracted working hours.

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