Monday, the 28th, immediately after the Chuseok holiday, will return to an ordinary weekday as the designation of a temporary holiday has effectively fallen through. For office workers, it is a workday; for investors, it is a trading day when the domestic stock market's regular session opens. The KOSPI and KOSDAQ will begin their first trading after the holiday at 9 a.m. on the 28th.

As of the 24th, there has been no government announcement or Cabinet meeting decision designating the 28th as a temporary holiday. This year's Chuseok holiday runs from Thursday the 24th to Saturday the 26th. Lunar New Year and Chuseok holidays only generate a substitute holiday when they overlap with a Sunday or another public holiday. Since this year's holiday overlaps with a Saturday, it does not qualify, making a temporary holiday designation the only way to make the 28th a day off.

■ Temporary Holiday Designation Directly Tied to Stock Market Schedule

Whether a temporary holiday is designated is directly linked to the stock market schedule. A temporary holiday becomes a public holiday for government offices, in which case the Korea Exchange also closes the market. Domestic stock markets were also closed on the previous temporary holidays: October 1, 2024 (Armed Forces Day) and January 27, 2025, ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.

If the 28th had been designated, the domestic market's trading gap would have stretched to five days, from the 24th through the 28th. With no designation, the market schedule remains as originally planned. The domestic market will be closed for two days, the 24th and 25th, which are weekdays during the Chuseok holiday, then pass the weekend of the 26th and 27th before opening the regular session on the 28th. The trading gap felt by investors is four days.

■ Settlement Schedule: Shares Sold on the 23rd Settle on the 29th

The settlement schedule is set accordingly. Domestic stocks settle two business days after the trade date, with market holidays excluded from business days. According to calculations, proceeds from shares sold on Wednesday the 23rd, just before the holiday, count the 28th as the first business day, making Tuesday the 29th the settlement date. Had the 28th become a temporary holiday, the settlement date would have been pushed back one more day to Wednesday the 30th.

■ Three New York Trading Sessions as a Variable, Reflected in the 28th's Opening

The 9 a.m. opening on the 28th is also a moment when overseas variables accumulated during the holiday are absorbed all at once. While the domestic market is paused, the New York Stock Exchange holds three regular sessions on the 23rd, 24th, and 25th (U.S. Eastern Time). It is difficult to determine in advance in which direction and to what extent the trends of those three trading days will be reflected in domestic indices on the 28th.

[Stock market schedules may change depending on exchange operations and other circumstances, so checking official notices is necessary. This article is not a recommendation to invest in specific stocks, and investment decisions and their responsibilities rest with the investor. This article was written based on public materials, with AI providing some assistance in the writing process.]