SEOUL, KOREA - Currently as many as 70 percent of Korean large companies are encouraging their employees to take summer vacations. But it will change soon as most companies consider allowing their people to take vacations all around the year. 

 

According to a survey conducted by the Federation of Korean Industries on major large corporations, 70.3 percent of respondents said they allot summer months for employees' vacations. Only 29.7 percent of the firms answered they do not set any time of the year as preferred vacation time.

 

The time of the summer months companies preferred their employees to take vacations this year was early August (34.4%), followed by late July (25.3%), mid-August (12.2%), mid-July (10.9%), and late August (7.3%). Still, the companies were positive about letting their people take out vacations any time of the year, with 77.5 percent of the firms saying it is a good idea.

 

As benefits from such flexible vacation schemes, the respondents selected higher productivity (30.5%), stimulus to the domestic tourism industry (28.1%), domestic consumption promotion (19.2%), and regional economy enlivening (13.8%).

 

Kim Yong-ok, Federation of Korean Industries manager in charge of policy affairs, said, "Given most firms are in support of a scheme permitting employees to take vacations flexibly, it is expected to have positive effects on the economy." The latest survey was held on 300 large corporations of which 128 returned the questionnaire.