Business sources said Monday that an increasing number of Korean companies have been encouraging employees to take vacations in the winter to avoid a heavy concentration of vacationing employees in summer. Samsung Electronics Co., for instance, makes it rule to provide winter vacation employees have been advised to take five days off up until the end of February. Mid-level staff members of Samsung Electronics usually enjoy three to four days winter vacation. Both Korean Air and Asiana Airlines have adopted unpaid vacation and sabbatical leave systems despite management difficulties wrought by the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States. Korean Air advised employees to take official vacations at any time except the peak demand season linked to the May 31-June 30 World Cup soccer finals and Sept. 9-Oct. 4 Busan Asian Games.
Asiana's sabbatical leave covers three months or less, and typically, about 10 employees, mostly pilots and crew members, take leave every month. Hansol Paper Co. allows its employees to take vacation at any time of the year.