Civil Servants' Leave System

1. 1. Article 14 through 24-3 of the State Public Officials Service Regulations and other regulations regarding the service of and disciplinary actions against state civil servants apply to civil servants' leaves
2. 2. Leaves for civil servants involve the relief of office duty by the head of administrative agencies for a certain period as requested by civil servants with legitimate reasons. Leaves shall be classified into annual leaves, sick leaves, official leaves and special leaves

Annual leave

• Leaves used to maintain work performance by ensuring physical and mental rest or for personal convenience
• Unused annual leave is compensated with cash (up to 20 days).
• The head of an administrative agency shall determine and publish by March 31 of each year the recommended minimum number of days of annual leave that should be used in the relevant year

Sick leave

• Where the civil servant is unable to perform his/her duties due to a disease or injury or suffers from an infectious disease and his/her coming to the office is likely to negatively impact the health of other civil servants
• Regular sick leave: 60 days a year
• Sick leave for disease or injury sustained in the line of duty: 180 days a year. Approval is needed for convalescence related to disease or injury sustained in the line of duty
• Rules for sick leave
  • Civil servants can take up to 6 accumulated days a year of sick leave without a doctor's medical certificate
  • A doctor's medical certificate shall be attached according to Article 17 of the Medical Service Act for 7 or more consecutive days of sick leave or if the number of days of sick leave taken for a given year exceeds 6 days
  • The head of an administrative agency (the approver) makes the relevant decision based on the civil servant's ability to perform his/her duties and the doctor's medical certificate

Official leave

• Leaves given to civil servants when they cooperate with state agencies' orders as a regular citizen or need to fulfill their legal duties
• Types of official leaves (Article 19 of the State Public Officials Service Regulations)
  • When he/she complies with a draft physical examination, call-up, inspection muster, etc. or participates in military force mobilization or training under the Military Service Act or any other statutes or regulations
  • When he/she is summoned to the National Assembly, court, prosecutor's office, or any other state agency in connection with his/her official duties
  • When he/she participates in voting under statutes
  • When he/she takes an examination for a promotion or change of jobs
  • When he/she starts for his/her new post after receiving an order of transfer to a remote location
  • When he/she receives a health examination under Article 129 through 131 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, a health checkup under Article 52 of the National Health Insurance Act or tuberculosis examination, etc. under Article 11 (1) of the Tuberculosis Prevention Act
  • When he/she participates in blood donation in accordance with the Blood Management Act
  • When he/she takes a test for foreign language skills under subparagraph 5 of Article 32 of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Capacity Development of Public Officials
  • When he/she participates in a national event, such as the Olympic Games and the National Sports Festival
  • When it is impossible for him/her to come to the office due to a natural disaster, traffic blockade, or any other relevant reason
  • When he/she is appointed as a negotiating committee member under Article 9 of the Act on the Establishment and Operation of Public Officials' Labor Unions and engages in collective bargaining, concluding of collective agreements or a council of delegates under Article 17 of the same Act and Article 17 of the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act (referring to a council of delegates of civil servants’ labor unions established pursuant to the Act on the Establishment and Operation of Public Officials' Labor Unions; limited to one instance per year)
  • When he/she gets vaccinated against quarantinable infectious diseases pursuant to subparagraph 1 of Article 2 of the Quarantine Act before he/she goes to a quarantine inspection required area or a strict quarantine inspection required area under Article 5 (1) of the same Act for an official overseas business trip, secondment, or training, etc
  • When he/she receives mandatory or special vaccination against a Class 1 infectious disease under Article 24 or 25 of the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act or receives an infection inspection under Article 42, Paragraph 2, Subparagraph 3 of the same act

Special leave

• Leave granted for special reasons based on social norms and customs
• Types of special leave (Article 20 of the State Public Officials Service Regulations)
  • 1. Family event leaves are granted when a civil servant gets married, the spouse gives birth, a family member dies or the civil servant adopts a child

    Event	Relevant person	No. of days
    Marriage	Civil servant	5
    	Child	1
    Giving Birth	Spouse	10
    Death	Spouse, parent of the civil servant or spouse	5
    	Grandparent of the civil servant or spouse	3
    	Child or the child’s spouse	3
    	Sibling of the civil servant or spouse	1
    Child adoption	Civil servant	20

  • 2. Maternity leave

    Approval is granted for maternity leave of a pregnant civil servant for 90 days before and after giving birth, but the period of leave after giving birth shall be at least 45 days

  • 3. Miscarriage or stillbirth leave

    A civil servant who experiences miscarriage or stillbirth during pregnancy may apply for a miscarriage or stillbirth leave based on the following table

    15 weeks or less of pregnancy	Up to 10 days from the day of miscarriage or stillbirth
    16 to 21 weeks of pregnancy	Up to 30 days from the day of miscarriage or stillbirth
    22 to 27 weeks of pregnancy	Up to 60 days from the day of miscarriage or stillbirth
    28 weeks or more of pregnancy	Up to 90 days from the day of miscarriage or stillbirth

Number of days of civil servants’ leave

Annual leave: Number of days of annual leave per period of service

Annual leave: Number of days of annual leave from the next period of service that can be used in advance