『공휴일에 관한 법률』제정 및 대체공휴일 도입에 관한 법적 쟁점 연구

Recently, the bills related to legislation for the law concerning the public holidays and introduction of the alternative day-off holiday system as well have been submitted to the National Assembly, and it’s been pending at the standing committee. Since the public holiday system has been developed according to each nation’s history and tradition, politics, economic system, social conditions, cultural environments, labor relations, the national character, industrial structure, and geological environments, etc., despite this system is determined by laws or act, or has been customarily kept, in fact, in the aspect of vouching for the right to rest and leisure or equality before the law, the ongoing discussion for legislation of the public holiday system may be considered unprecedented. The researcher closely reviewed the legal contentions concerning 『Bills on Public Holidays』, and found that this is only to force the private enterprises to keep the holiday system being observed by the public officials who are carrying out their jobs with special public power, and this may stir up the principle of autonomous agreement, and, because of colliding with the holiday system provided in the current Labor Standards Act, this will aggravate the burdens of the corporations, so that, in the short-term, legislation of the public holidays shall not be desirable in the aspect of interpretation of the present legal system. Therefore, it shall be required to exert best efforts to improve holiday cultures so that the workers utilize the yearly paid holidays, etc., which are legally guaranteed now in a more self-initiated manner. Nevertheless, it is obvious that improving the concept about the public holidays held by citizens as well as raising the necessity of legislation for the public holidays in order to guarantee the basic rights of citizens and to establish constitutional state should not be denied. If in-depth and society-wide discussions about the related legal system to the holiday system as prescribed in the pertinent labor laws, and annual paid leave, etc. are carried out by each social sector, it shall be much desirable to design a human-friendly public holiday system. By prescribing the minimum or proper number of public holidays that could be applied in general to the labor relations in the coming years, they would inspire the people to pick up a sense of kinship and self-esteem by getting sufficient rest, while thinking over the meaning of the public holiday.