Korea public holidays in 2026: every date, the substitute holidays and whether private employers must give the day off
Numbers checked against the official source on 2026-10-19
Korea has 16 public holidays in 2026 that fall on a Monday to Friday (counting the three-day Seollal and two weekday Chuseok days, and the substitute holidays), plus holidays that land on weekends. The main dates: New Year 1 January, Seollal 16-18 February, Independence Movement Day 1 March (substitute 2 March), Labour Day 1 May, Children's Day 5 May, Buddha's Birthday 24 May (substitute 25 May), Memorial Day 6 June, Constitution Day 17 July, Liberation Day 15 August (substitute 17 August), Chuseok 24-26 September, National Foundation Day 3 October (substitute 5 October), Hangul Day 9 October, and Christmas 25 December. Lunar dates below come from the official 2026 table of the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, not from our own calculation.
Sources read on 2026-10-19: Act on Public Holidays (공휴일에 관한 법률, in force 2026-05-11), Regulation on Public Holidays of Government Offices (관공서의 공휴일에 관한 규정, in force 2026-05-01), the National Holidays Act, and the 2026 calendar data table of the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI). The KASI page says in bold that the table "is not an official release" and points to the Ministry's official calendar notice (월력요항), whose text is only an attached file, so we compared the table against the law.
2026 holiday dates
| Date | Day | Holiday | Basis / note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Jan | Thu | New Year's Day | Act Art. 2 (1 January) |
| 16-18 Feb | Mon, Tue, Wed | Seollal (day before, day, day after) | Lunar 12/30, 1/1, 1/2; KASI table: lunar 1/1 = 17 Feb 2026 |
| 1 Mar | Sun | Independence Movement Day (3.1절) | national day |
| 2 Mar | Mon | Substitute holiday for 1 Mar | 1 Mar falls on a Sunday |
| 1 May | Fri | Labour Day (노동절) | Act Art. 2 item 5; see note below on a disagreement |
| 5 May | Tue | Children's Day | Act Art. 2 (5 May) |
| 24 May | Sun | Buddha's Birthday | Lunar 4/8; KASI table lists 24 May |
| 25 May | Mon | Substitute holiday for Buddha's Birthday | 24 May falls on a Sunday |
| 3 Jun | Wed | Nationwide local elections | Act item 10 (election day of a regular election); listed by KASI as 전국동시지방선거 |
| 6 Jun | Sat | Memorial Day | No substitute: Memorial Day is not in the substitute list |
| 17 Jul | Fri | Constitution Day (제헌절) | national day, in the public-holiday list from 2026; see note below |
| 15 Aug | Sat | Liberation Day | national day |
| 17 Aug | Mon | Substitute holiday for Liberation Day | 15 Aug falls on a Saturday |
| 24-26 Sep | Thu, Fri, Sat | Chuseok (day before, day, day after) | Lunar 8/14, 8/15, 8/16; KASI table: 24 to 26 Sep. No substitute: it overlaps a Saturday, not a Sunday |
| 3 Oct | Sat | National Foundation Day | national day |
| 5 Oct | Mon | Substitute holiday for National Foundation Day | 3 Oct falls on a Saturday |
| 9 Oct | Fri | Hangul Day | national day |
| 25 Dec | Fri | Christmas Day | Act Art. 2 (25 December) |
Counting the rows above that fall on Monday to Friday gives 16 days (derived arithmetic: 1 Jan; 16, 17, 18 Feb; 2 Mar; 1 May; 5 May; 25 May; 3 Jun; 17 Jul; 17 Aug; 24 and 25 Sep; 5 Oct; 9 Oct; 25 Dec). Six more holidays land on a weekend: 1 Mar, 24 May, 6 Jun, 15 Aug, 26 Sep and 3 Oct (the first, second, fourth and sixth of them get a substitute day; 6 Jun and 26 Sep do not). The government can also designate other days from time to time; this page lists none because the official sources name none for 2026.
How substitute holidays work
The Act on Public Holidays (Article 3) says a public holiday that falls on a Saturday, Sunday or another public holiday may be given a substitute holiday, with details set by decree. The Regulation on Public Holidays of Government Offices (Article 3) sets the rule: the substitute is the first non-holiday day after the holiday. It applies to:
- national days, Buddha's Birthday, Labour Day, Children's Day and Christmas, when they fall on a Saturday or Sunday;
- Seollal and Chuseok (the three-day blocks), when they overlap a Sunday;
- a national day, Seollal, Buddha's Birthday, Labour Day, Children's Day, Chuseok or Christmas that overlaps another public holiday on a weekday.
If two substitute holidays land on the same day, the next first non-holiday day is also a substitute. If a substitute would fall on a Saturday, the next first non-holiday day is used. Memorial Day (6 June) and New Year's Day are not on the substitute list, which is why 6 June 2026 (a Saturday) has no substitute.
Is it a day off at a private company?
Labor Standards Act Article 55(2) requires employers to guarantee paid holidays set by presidential decree, but allows them to be replaced with a specific working day by written agreement with the workers' representative. Article 30(2) of the Enforcement Decree says those holidays are the public holidays in Article 2 of the Regulation on Public Holidays of Government Offices (except item 1, Sundays) and the substitute holidays under its Article 3. The law page prints phase-in dates for businesses by size (from 2020 for the largest, 2021 for 30 to 299 workers, and 2022 for 5 to 29 workers); it does not say whether businesses with fewer than 5 workers are covered, so ask the local labour office if you work for a very small firm. Your contract or the company's work rules may add more days.
Where the sources differ
| Item | Law | KASI 2026 table | What we show |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labour Day, 1 May | Act on Public Holidays Art. 2 item 5 lists Labour Day (5월 1일) as a public holiday; Government Offices Regulation (in force 2026-05-01) item 6 does too. The Act itself is shown as in force 2026-05-11. | The "national days and holidays" box has no Labour Day. It appears only in the list of commemorative days, as 근로자의 날 on Friday 1 May. The page says its data was generated on 2024-07-25. | Law is the headline: 1 May is a public holiday. A Ministry press-release title read on korea.kr (260406) says Labour Day is designated a public holiday "from this year, for all citizens". |
| Constitution Day, 17 July | National Holidays Act Art. 2 lists it as a national day; the Public Holidays Act Art. 2 item 1 makes every national day a public holiday. | Printed as "제헌절* / * 7월 17일 (금)" with a legend line that says "** national day but not a holiday"; the entry has a single asterisk, so the table is not clear. | Law is the headline: 17 July is a public holiday. A Ministry press-release title read on korea.kr (260428) says "올해부터 노동절, 제헌절 공휴일로". |
For travel planning around Seollal and Chuseok, see also express and intercity bus fares and KORAIL PASS. Related living pages: Minimum wage 2026 and severance pay. Not legal advice: confirm with the Ministry of Personnel Management (government offices) or the labour office (private employers).
Checked 2026-10-19.
Official sources
- National Law Information Center — Act on Public Holidays, Articles 2 and 3 — list of public holidays and the substitute-holiday principle; in force 2026-05-11 (checked 2026-10-19)
- National Law Information Center — Regulation on Public Holidays of Government Offices, Articles 2 and 3 — holiday list with lunar rules and the substitute-holiday rule; in force 2026-05-01 (checked 2026-10-19)
- National Law Information Center — National Holidays Act, Article 2 — the five national days (1 Mar, 17 Jul, 15 Aug, 3 Oct, 9 Oct) (checked 2026-10-19)
- Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute — 2026 calendar data (월력요항) — lunar-solar dates and weekdays for 2026 holidays; page states it is not an official release (generated 2024-07-25) (checked 2026-10-19)
- National Law Information Center — Labor Standards Act, Article 55 — paid holidays; in force 2026-10-08 (checked 2026-10-19)
- National Law Information Center — Enforcement Decree of the Labor Standards Act, Article 30 — which public holidays are paid holidays at private employers; shown as in force 2025-10-23 (checked 2026-10-19)
- Korea Policy Briefing — press release: Labour Day designated a public holiday (6 April 2026) — title only: the body is in attached files, which we did not download (checked 2026-10-19)
- Korea Policy Briefing — press release: Labour Day and Constitution Day made public holidays (28 April 2026) — title only: the body is in attached files, which we did not download (checked 2026-10-19)
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