Constitution Day (July 17) Restored as a Public Holiday After 18 Years

Constitution Day (July 17) has been designated as a public holiday again after 18 years.

On the 29th, the National Assembly passed the amendment to the 'Public Holiday Act' that re-designates Constitution Day as a public holiday with 198 votes in favor, 2 against, and 3 abstentions out of 203 members present. The amendment will take effect three months after its promulgation, applying from this year's Constitution Day, which falls on a Friday.

Constitution Day was designated as a national holiday to commemorate the establishment of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea in 1948 and was operated as a public holiday for a time. However, it was excluded from public holidays starting in 2008 after the revision of the public holiday regulations for government offices in 2005. Currently, among the five major national holidays—March 1st, Constitution Day, Liberation Day, National Foundation Day, and Hangeul Day—only Constitution Day was not a public holiday.

The demand for the restoration of Constitution Day as a public holiday has been consistently raised. Last year, on July 17, President Lee Jae-myung mentioned the necessity of designating it as a public holiday during a senior secretary meeting, which gained momentum for the discussion.

With the confirmation of Constitution Day as a public holiday, it is expected that there will be a significant increase in family travel demand coinciding with the summer vacation period. At the same time, it is also anticipated to have the effect of dispersing the concentrated travel demand during the summer season.

With this amendment, all five major national holidays—March 1st, Constitution Day, Liberation Day, National Foundation Day, and Hangeul Day—are designated as public holidays.