Public Holiday Designation

[Anchor Lead]

The presidential office is pushing to designate April 11th as a temporary national holiday, to commemorate the centennial of the establishment of Korea's provisional government during the Japanese colonial era. It's the first such move by the current administration to seek holiday designation to mark historical significance, rather than to boost public consumption and other reasons.

[Pkg]

On March first 100 years ago, Independence movements sprang up all across Korea during the Japanese colonial occupation. The spirit of the March first Independence Movement paved the way for the establishment of the Korean provisional government in Shanghai a month later on April 11th. This is the very day when the nation's official name became the Republic of Korea and a provisional Constitution declaring it as a democratic republic was proclaimed. The presidential office is pushing to designate April 11th as a temporary national holiday to commemorate the centennial of the founding of the Korean provisional government. As this year marks the 100th anniversary of both the founding and the March first Independence Movement, the Cheong Wa Dae's move is aimed at clarifying that Korea traces its roots back to the colonial-era provisional government. The top office hopes this can put an end to the futile dispute over the nation's foundation day. Until last year, the provisional government was believed to be established on April 13th. But based on newly discovered historical evidence, the day will be marked on April 11th for the very first time this year. This comes 30 years after the founding anniversary was named a national day of celebration. The decision on designating the day as a temporary holiday just for this year will be finalized through parliament deliberation and the president's approval. Back in 2017, the government also designated October second as a temporary holiday with hopes of boosting public spending. But this year marks the first time the current administration is seeking a holiday designation for historical reasons.