Parliamentary committee passes bill to designate Labor Day as national holiday

▲ The parliamentary public administration and security committee holds a plenary session on March 26, 2026. (Yonhap)

parliamentary committee-Labor Day

Parliamentary committee passes bill to designate Labor Day as national holiday

SEOUL, March 26 (Yonhap) -- The parliamentary public administration and security committee on Thursday passed a bill to designate Labor Day as an official public holiday.

If the bill passes a plenary session and receives Cabinet approval, May 1 will be observed as a national holiday starting this year.

South Korea had previously marked May 1 as "Labor Day" before it was officially called "Workers' Day" in 1963 when a relevant legislation was enacted.

While Workers' Day was designated as a paid holiday in 1994, the benefit only applies to workers covered by the Labor Standards Act, which exclude public servants, teachers and other workers in special employment arrangements.

Last year, the National Assembly passed a bill to restore the name to Labor Day as part of efforts to ensure that all workers can take a day off.

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