An office worker uses a computer. (123rf) While many South Korean office workers anticipate Monday’s substitute holiday for Buddha’s Birthday, nearly 3 million employees at businesses with fewer than five staff members may not receive the day off.South Korea’s labor law excludes several key protections for workplaces with fewer than five employees, including paid leave for public and substitute holidays.If employers do not provide paid leave, workers at these small businesses are not guaranteed time off. They also lack a legal right to extra holiday pay, typically 1.5 times their regular wages, for working on public or substitute holidays.According to the Korean Statistical Information Service, as of 2024, 1.37 million out of 2.02 million workplaces with employee health insurance had fewer than five workers. This makes up 67.7 percent of all such workplaces.Around 2.98 million people work at these small businesses, which is 16.5 percent of South Korea’s 18 million insured employees.KOSIS also noted that additional workers may be excluded from substitute holiday protections if employees at very small businesses are not enrolled in the country’s four main social insurance programs.This exemption exists because many small businesses have limited staff and resources, making it difficult to comply with mandatory public holiday requirements.However, some critics argue that this policy leaves the country’s most vulnerable workers without basic protections.A report from the Korea Labor Institute last year said that excluding employees at workplaces with fewer than five workers is unfair and “could violate constitutional guarantees of equality.” The report called for reconsidering the policy.