President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a meeting with senior aides and secretaries held at the presidential office in Seoul on July 17, 2025. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, July 17 (Korea Bizwire) – President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday instructed senior aides to review a plan to redesignate Constitution Day as a public holiday.
Observed annually on July 17, Constitution Day had been a public holiday but was reclassified in 2008 as a commemorative day, meaning government offices and businesses no longer close for the occasion.
Marking the 77th anniversary of Constitution Day, Lee instructed senior aides and secretaries to review the possibility of reinstating it as a public holiday.
“Although Constitution Day commemorates the enactment and proclamation of the Constitution, it seems to be the only national commemoration day that is not designated as a public holiday,” Lee said.
He also highlighted the public’s role in upholding democratic order following former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s short-lived declaration of martial law last December, saying there is a “special need” to commemorate it.
“Designating Constitution Day as a public holiday could serve as a meaningful opportunity for the people to reflect on the constitutional spirit that the people are the true owners of the nation and on the principle of popular sovereignty,” he said.
(Yonhap)
