Franchise Workers Brace for Exhausting Schedules Amid May Holiday Surge (Image created by AI/ChatGPT)
SEOUL, April 23 (Korea Bizwire) — As anticipation builds for South Korea’s May “golden holiday,” new data reveals a stark reality for many franchise workers: more than 60% of franchise outlets nationwide operate without a single regular day off.
According to figures released on April 23, 2025, by Statistics Korea through the national statistics portal (KOSIS), 169,364 out of 270,086 franchise businesses across 15 major sectors in 2024 reported having no designated off-days. These “regular holidays” refer to planned, recurring days off—excluding national holidays or special closures.
Convenience stores led the way, with a staggering 99.2% of the country’s 54,828 outlets reporting zero regular closures, driven by the 24-hour nature of their operations. Other labor-intensive sectors followed closely: 81.4% of coffee and non-alcoholic beverage franchises and 78.3% of bakeries also reported no regular off-days.
Even in sectors like fast food and casual dining—such as pizza, burger, and sandwich shops—over half of outlets (59.5%) reported operating without regular closure. Pubs and beer bars followed with 56.8%. By contrast, more specialized industries like automotive repair (2.8%) and pharmacies (12.1%) showed significantly lower figures.
The average daily operating hours of franchise outlets are also notably long, with 72,972 outlets—accounting for 27.0% of all franchises—open for more than 14 hours a day. In particular, convenience stores recorded a staggering 99.7% operating rate of over 14 hours daily, meaning that most convenience stores run 14 hours a day without any regular day off. (Image created by AI/ChatGPT)
Working hours are also demanding. Nearly 73,000 franchises, or 27% of the total, operate more than 14 hours per day. Among convenience stores, that number is virtually universal at 99.7%, making long hours without breaks the norm for the industry.
This intense schedule reflects the broader challenges faced by South Korea’s small business landscape, where one in five workers is self-employed. In a hyper-competitive environment, many franchisees—especially small-scale operators with limited capital—find it difficult to afford regular closures due to labor costs and rent pressures.
Despite these efforts, business conditions remain harsh. According to a Bank of Korea report released last month, the average income of self-employed individuals in South Korea rose slightly from 41.31 million won in 2022 to 41.57 million won in 2024. However, it still lags behind the pre-pandemic level of 42.42 million won in 2019.
The central bank attributed the sluggish income recovery to structural factors, including the high concentration of self-employment and ongoing weakness in the service sector. It also warned of rising loan delinquency rates among vulnerable borrowers.
In response, the Bank of Korea recommended tailored support for small business owners, suggesting financial assistance, debt restructuring, or business recovery programs based on individual repayment capabilities and willingness.
As the country heads into a major holiday season, these findings underscore a sobering truth: while many prepare for rest and travel, hundreds of thousands of franchise workers will be grinding through another day on the job—with no time off in sight.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
