"99% Annual Leave Use, Three Weeks Off Every Five Years"... Government Picks "Workplaces That Make Time to Rest"

Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Selects 162 Companies and Institutions for Leisure-Friendly Management Certification
Unusual Work Arrangements, Including a 4.5-Day Workweek and Paid Winter Breaks, Draw Attention
10 Outstanding Companies and Institutions, Including Infograb and KT&G, Receive Awards

They arrive at work an hour late on Mondays and take two weeks of paid leave in winter. Some companies cut working hours in half on Fridays or offer three-week recharge breaks every five years. A total of 162 companies and public institutions that have introduced work arrangements emphasizing a balance between work and rest have received the government’s Leisure-Friendly Management certification.

Promotional poster for the 2026 Leisure-Friendly Management Certification Ceremony for Companies and Institutions, to be held on the 9th at the National Museum of Korea in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will certify 162 companies and institutions that operate programs to promote work-life balance, such as a four-and-a-half-day workweek and extended vacations, and recognize 10 outstanding organizations. Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said it will hold the 2026 Leisure-Friendly Management Certification Ceremony for Companies and Institutions at 2 p.m. on November 9 in the Grand Auditorium of the National Museum of Korea, together with the Regional Culture Promotion Agency. It will present certificates to 162 organizations in total: 79 receiving certification for the first time and 83 being recertified.

This year, 210 applications were submitted, the most ever. The final recipients were selected following document reviews, interviews and deliberations by a certification committee. Since the system was introduced in 2012, the cumulative number of certified companies and institutions has reached 779.

This year, various programs to shorten working hours, provide extended leave and support employees’ leisure activities drew particular attention. Infograb, which will receive the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Award, operates a “Monday Start Delay” program, under which employees arrive an hour late on the last Monday of each month, as well as an early-Friday-finish program. It provides all employees with a two-week paid winter break and allows them to choose where they work.

KT&G, which will also receive the minister’s award, provides a three-week recharge break every five years and operates an “automatic parental leave” program that transitions employees to parental leave without a separate application. ForYou Digital introduced a “negative leave” system that lets employees use annual leave before it accrues, and provides support for artificial intelligence (AI) subscription fees and golf lessons. Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power offers annual leave in 30-minute increments and family-participation education programs, among other initiatives.

The 4.5-day workweek was also selected as an outstanding practice. The Gyeonggi Content Agency, the first public institution in the country to introduce a 4.5-day workweek without reducing pay, will receive a special award from the Leisure-Friendly Certification Committee. Gyeonggi Housing & Urban Development Corporation, which has a system allowing employees to work just four hours on Fridays, was selected to receive the Regional Culture Promotion Agency President’s Award.

Other companies recognized for their initiatives include Devguru, which achieved a 90% employee annual leave utilization rate; POSCO WIDE, which supports professional counseling and leisure activities; and Glorang, which runs family-participation programs and recorded a 99% annual leave utilization rate.

The Leisure-Friendly Management Certification system was introduced in 2012 under the Framework Act on the Promotion of National Leisure. It selects companies and institutions that support employees in balancing their work and leisure. Organizations certified this year may use the Leisure-Friendly Certification mark for three years, from January 2027 through December 2029.

Jeong Hyangmi, head of the Culture and Arts Policy Office at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said, “These organizations’ efforts are an investment that goes beyond simply providing benefits: they win the trust of their employees and strengthen their competitiveness.” She added, “We will continue to provide attentive support to companies and institutions working to create workplaces where people can take a break.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.