South Korea Public Holidays: Employer Guide

You’re here because you need a quick, reliable list of South Korea public holidays, plus the payroll rules that matter when someone works on a holiday. This guide gives you exactly that. Here’s the 2026 South Korea holiday calendar and the practical pay, substitute-day, and recordkeeping points that will help you run clean payroll and stay aligned with local rules.

2026 South Korea Holiday Calendar

What counts as a paid public holiday in South Korea?

For employees covered by South Korea’s labor rules, you should generally treat the holidays above as paid public holidays. In practice, that means an employee who doesn’t work on the holiday usually still receives their ordinary pay for that day. It also means substitute holidays can raise the total number of paid days off in a given year, which matters for scheduling, payroll budgets, and leave planning.

If you have a mix of employees and contractors, do not assume the same holiday rules apply. Your holiday obligations usually depend on worker classification and the local employment law coverage.

If you are mapping your broader approach to hiring in South Korea, this is one of those details that looks small until it hits payroll.

Do employees get the day off with pay?

Usually, yes. When the holiday is a paid public holiday, employees typically receive their normal pay for the day off.

If an employee is scheduled to work, you still need to treat those hours as holiday work for pay purposes. If the employee is not scheduled to work, your main job is to confirm that the holiday is already captured in the employee’s paid-day-off entitlement and recorded correctly in payroll.

Holiday work pay rules

When someone works on a public holiday in South Korea, holiday work usually triggers premium pay on top of the employee’s ordinary wages. Under the Labor Standards Act, holiday work generally starts with an added premium of at least 50% above ordinary wages, and the total can increase depending on how many hours the employee works and whether some of those hours also count as overtime.

That’s why holiday payroll should be handled carefully. You need to separate the paid holiday entitlement from the pay for hours actually worked, then layer in the right premium.

If you run shifts, define what counts as holiday hours before payroll day. Overnight work is where teams get tripped up. A shift that starts before midnight and ends after midnight may need to be split so your payroll logic applies the right rate to the right hours.

For example, if an employee works six hours on Children’s Day, you may need to account for:

• Paid holiday entitlement. The employee still receives pay for the holiday itself.
• Pay for hours worked. The 6 hours actually worked need to be paid.
• Holiday-work premium. The required premium is added on top of those worked hours.

That structure is one reason many companies use an EOR in South Korea when they start hiring abroad. Holiday rules are not hard because they are impossible. They are hard because the details pile up fast.

Substitute day rules when employees work on a holiday

A substitute day is a different paid day off that stands in for a holiday under a documented arrangement.

In South Korea, you shouldn’t treat this casually. You generally need a written agreement with the employee representative, or a clear documented process in your work rules, to substitute a holiday with another paid day off. The substitute day should be defined in advance, recorded in writing, and reflected in your timekeeping records.

That matters because the pay result can change depending on how the arrangement is structured. If you substitute a day off, make sure your payroll logic still applies the correct premium rules for the day worked based on the actual arrangement in place. A vague manager note is not enough.

Employer compliance checklist

Here’s a quick checklist you can follow:

• Confirm the year’s holiday calendar. Include substitute holidays, election days, and lunar-based dates.
• Align contracts and work rules. Make sure your treatment of public holidays matches your employment documents.
• Document holiday scheduling and substitutions. Put the arrangement in writing before the work happens.
• Configure timekeeping correctly. Tag holiday hours, substitute days, and overnight split shifts accurately.
• Apply premium pay consistently. Use the same payroll logic across teams and locations.
• Keep payroll records audit-ready. Save approvals, calculations, and supporting time records.

Common payroll and scheduling pitfalls

Watch out for these common mistakes:

• Assuming a holiday is unpaid because the office stays open. Opening the business does not erase holiday-pay obligations.
• Forgetting substitute holidays. Major holidays that land on a weekend can still create an observed paid day off.
• Using a flat allowance instead of the required calculation. Convenience is not a defense if the premium was wrong.
• Missing overnight holiday hours. Hours that cross midnight need clear payroll cutoffs.
• Mixing up employees and contractors. Holiday-pay obligations usually follow classification, not job title.

FAQs

Are South Korea public holidays always paid for employees?

For employees covered by local labor rules, they are generally treated as paid public holidays. You should still check your work rules, contracts, and classification setup.

Is Workers’ Day a paid day off?

Yes, it is commonly treated as a paid holiday for employees, even though it has historically sat outside the standard government public holiday list.

What happens if a public holiday falls on a weekend?

A substitute holiday may apply, depending on the holiday and the rule that covers it. In 2026, that matters for holidays like Independence Movement Day, Buddha’s Birthday, Liberation Day, and National Foundation Day.

Can you swap a public holiday for another day off?

You can, but you should have a written agreement or a documented work-rule process, define the substitute day in advance, and reflect it in timekeeping and payroll.

Do you owe premium pay if someone works on a public holiday?

Usually, yes. Holiday work generally requires premium pay on top of ordinary wages, and the final amount can change based on hours worked and overtime overlap.

Pebl is your public holiday partner

If you’ve made it this far, you’ve got your sights set on South Korea. Maybe you’ve even found the perfect talent. There’s a lot that needs to be taken care of before you can start hiring—researching taxes, finding experts in local labor law, finding a payroll processor, and more. It takes a lot of time and a lot of money. Wouldn’t it be great if there were an easier way?

With Pebl, there is.

Our EOR platform allows you to hire, pay, and manage employees in 185+ countries around the world without setting up your own local entity. That means your new talent starts in days, not months. We handle it all: onboarding, benefits, salary benchmarking, payroll, and compliance with all local regulations. Every public holiday, overtime or double time pay the law requires, we make sure it happens. All you have to do is stay focused on leading your team.

When you’re ready to do things the easy way, let us know.

This information does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal or tax advice and is for general informational purposes only. The intent of this document is solely to provide general and preliminary information for private use. Do not rely on it as an alternative to legal, financial, taxation, or accountancy advice from an appropriately qualified professional. The content in this guide is provided “as is,” and no representations are made that the content is error-free.

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