As voices calling for May 2nd to be made a temporary holiday emerge, a heated debate is unfolding.
According to the calendar regulations from the Korea Aerospace Administration on the 14th, this year's Buddha's Birthday falls on May 5th (Monday), and since it coincides with Children's Day, May 6th (Tuesday) has been designated as a substitute holiday. This allows for a break from May 3rd (Saturday) to the 6th. The day before the holiday, May 1st, is Labor Day, and employees, except for public servants and teachers, may receive paid leave depending on company policy. If May 2nd is designated as a 'temporary holiday', it would allow for the longest golden holiday of six days.
Earlier, the government designated January 27th, which was sandwiched between the Lunar New Year holiday and the weekend, as a temporary holiday to boost consumption and invigorate the domestic market. In this context, a heated discussion is taking place among netizens regarding May 2nd. Those in favor of the temporary holiday are responding with remarks such as, "I can’t rest on Labor Day, so please make it happen," "Since schools are already on discretionary holidays, let’s make it a temporary holiday," and "I hope we get a chance to rest even at times like this," urging for the designation of May 2nd as a temporary holiday.
Counterarguments are also emerging. Dual-income couples are worried about where to leave their children. In particular, self-employed individuals are opposing with comments like, "It won’t have an effect on domestic consumption," "Sales were halved during the last holiday," and "Everyone is going abroad." In fact, following the designation of a temporary holiday during this January's Lunar New Year holiday, there was a significant increase in the number of overseas travelers, and it has been evaluated that the effect on the domestic market was not as expected.