The government decided to designate the day before next week’s National Liberation Day as a temporary holiday, an official said Tuesday, in the latest efforts to boost domestic consumption hit hard by the MERS outbreak.
The move comes as South Korea is trying to drum up a festive mood for Liberation Day, a major holiday in both South and North Korea.
This year’s anniversary, which falls on Aug. 15, holds significance as it marks the 70th anniversary of Korea’s independence from Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule.
The idea of designating Aug. 14 a temporary holiday was endorsed in the first Cabinet meeting since President Park Geun-hye returned to work after her summer vacation.
“We should use Liberation Day celebrations to bolster people’s feelings of pride and boost their spirits,” Park said in the Cabinet meeting.
The Cabinet is expected to give final approval to the plan next week due to various administrative procedures.
The government also said all expressways will be toll-free on Aug. 14 in an apparent move to boost domestic travel as part of efforts to help the faltering economy.
She also instructed officials to start the Korea Grand Sale at an earlier date than scheduled to help lure foreign tourists and boost domestic consumption.
An outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome made a big dent in consumer spending, one of the country’s key growth engines.
Park said South Korea needs to “make efforts to revitalize domestic consumption,” as she instructed officials to quickly implement the 11.6 trillion-won ($9.9 billion) extra budget.
The MERS virus scared away foreign tourists as it has killed 36 South Koreans since the first case was confirmed on May 20.
Foreign tourists, including the Chinese, are coming back to South Korea as Seoul has declared a de facto end to the outbreak.
South Korea reported no additional MERS cases for the 30th consecutive day on Tuesday.
Also Tuesday, Park renewed her calls for labor reform to create jobs for young people, describing labor reform as a win-win for everyone.
Park also pressed a tripartite committee composed of the government, businesses and labor organizations to resume dialogue and make concessions to produce a deal meant to reform the country’s labor market.
The dialogue has been stalled since April when an umbrella labor union walked out of negotiations with the government and management on labor market reforms. (Yonhap)
