Updated on: 2025/08/04 14:03 (UTC)
Overview
South Korea has enacted numerous labor laws that govern the relationship between employers and employees. Relevant statutes include the Labor Standards Act, the Framework Act on Employment Policy, the Employment Security Act, the Act on Equal Employment and Support for Work-Family Reconciliation, the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act and the Trade Unions and Labor Relations Adjustment Act. There are no fewer than 30 other statutes that affect the employment relationship.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor is the principal agency governing employment policies.
Hiring
Employment Contracts
Employers are required to enter into individual work contracts with each employee specifying:
- wages,
- work hours and
- working conditions.
Contracts must provide at least the minimum conditions required by law and are otherwise considered null and void.
Labor law generally does not make a distinction between contracts for permanent, part-time and temporary workers.
Restrictions on Hiring
Youths under the age of 15 may not be employed unless they get a permit from the labor minister. Those under 18 may not work for more than seven hours per day or 40 hours per week (although this may be extended by one hour per day or six hours per week with mutual consent). Women and youths under the age of 18 are forbidden from working in dangerous or hazardous environments.
Government subsidies are available to companies that hire employees from “vulnerable groups”—including the aged, female heads of households and the long-term unemployed—and for encouraging lifelong vocational skills development.
Recordkeeping
Employers are required to maintain a registry of workers with information such as an employee’s:
- name,
- address,
- birth date,
- job, and
- date of employment and/or dismissal.
This and other information—such as labor contracts, wage ledgers and documentation on promotions, dismissals and retirements—must be kept for at least three years.
Employers with 30 or more employees are required to maintain their job applicant’s hiring documentation. Upon request from job candidates, employers are required to return the documentation to the applicants.
Background Checks
Under the Personal Information Protection Act, an employer should obtain an employee or applicant’s permission before conducting a background check.
Noncompetition Agreements
Employment contracts may protect trade secrets and confidential information with fiscal value.
Reference Citations
Employment Contracts: Labor Standards Act, No. 12,325 of 1997 (as amended). arts. 15-18 (Korean)
Restrictions on Hiring: Labor Standards Act, No. 12,325 of 1997 (as amended). arts. 64-69 (Korean)
Recordkeeping: Labor Standards Act, No. 12,325 of 1997 (as amended). arts. 41-42 (Korean)
Background Checks: Personal Information Protection Act, 2011, arts. 3-4
Noncompetition Agreements: Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act, No. 911 of 1961 (as amended), arts. 10-11
Immigration and Work Permits
In General
Foreign workers entering Korea generally need to have a valid passport and visa issued by the Ministry of Justice. Once an expat’s work permit has been approved, the Ministry of Justice will issue a Certificate of Confirmation of Visa Issuance. This certificate must be submitted with the relevant visa application forms to the South Korean embassy or consulate in the applicant’s country of residence. Foreign workers who have been issued a work visa for a stay of longer than 90 days will receive an Alien Registration Card, which allows them to open a bank account, sign a lease, get a cellular telephone number and apply for a driver’s license in South Korea.
Employers must seek native workers before hiring a foreign employee.
Visas and Work Permits
The Framework Act on Employment Policy allows the government to introduce foreign workers for the smooth operation of supply and demand within the labor market without interfering with domestic employment. Companies that hire foreign laborers must obtain departure guarantee insurance to pay retirement benefits prior to the departure of the workers.
The Act on Foreign Workers’ Employment requires an employer to seek native workers before hiring a foreign employee and spells out recruitment procedures.
Foreign workers entering Korea generally need to have a valid passport and visa issued by the Ministry of Justice. Foreign nationals from the U.S. and most of Western Europe can enter without a visa for a stay of 90 days or less for temporary business purposes.
South Korea offers several types of visa. The most commonly used work authorization is the D-7 Intracompany Transfer Visa, which is for transferees moving to a Korean branch or liaison office of a foreign corporation registered with the Korean Government. The D-7 is generally granted for one year.
The D-8 (Corporate Investment Visa) is issued to employees seconded to a foreign company’s South Korean subsidiary registered under Korea’s Foreign Investment Promotion Act. Foreign nationals can generally file an application for conversion to a D-8 work visa after their arrival in South Korea on business visitor status.
C-4 visas are for foreign nationals working for a South Korean employer for 90 days or less. There are no special restrictions on the type of work the foreign national can perform.
All visa applicants apply through their local embassy or consulate with final review and approval from the immigration management office. Employees sent to South Korea by foreign employers are required to submit the following to their consular office:
- visa issuance application form,
- copy of passport,
- business registration certificate,
- invitation purpose statement,
- dispatch order letter,
- resume,
- required professional demonstration document,
- tax payment certificate and
- commission fee.
Once an expat’s work permit has been approved, the Ministry of Justice will issue a Certificate of Confirmation of Visa Issuance. This certificate must then be submitted with the relevant visa application forms to the South Korean embassy or consulate in the applicant’s country of residence.
Foreign workers who have been issued a work visa for a stay of longer than 90 days will receive an Alien Registration Card, which allows them to open a bank account, sign a lease, get a cellular telephone number and apply for a driver’s license in South Korea.
Penalties
Employers that hire a foreign national with no right to work in South Korea are subject to imprisonment for up to three years or a fine of up to 20 million won.
Forms
Visa Application Form
Reference Citations
Visas and Work Permits: Framework Act on Employment Policy, No. 4,643 of 1993 (as amended), art. 31
Nondiscrimination
In General
Employers may not discriminate based on nationality, place of birth, school of graduation, union participation, social status, religion, sex, marital status, pregnancy, childbirth, age, or disability.
Age Discrimination
Employers may not discriminate based on age.
Mandatory retirement ages must not be lower than 60. State-controlled industries and agencies must hire older employees in positions deemed specifically appropriate for them by the Ministry of Employment and Labor.
Financial incentives are offered to companies employing workers aged 55 or over for extended periods of time.
Disability Discrimination
Employers may not discriminate in hiring, training, wages, promotion, dismissals, or retirement based on a person’s disability. Employers also must provide accommodations to allow workers with disabilities to work on an equitable basis with nondisabled employees.
Employers must conduct staff training aimed at eliminating disability discrimination in the workplace.
Gender Discrimination
Korean law bars employers from discrimination based on sex in hiring, training, pay, promotion, dismissal, or retirement. Employers must compensate men and women equally for equivalent work. Employers also may not discriminate against female employees based on marital status, pregnancy, or childbirth, and an employment contract cannot require a woman to give up her job if she marries, becomes pregnant, or gives birth.
Employers violating gender discrimination laws may face substantial fines and imprisonment.
Preventing and eradicating sexual harassment from the workplace is the responsibility of the employer. Employers must provide anti-harassment training once or more every year and establish procedures for dealing with complaints, punishing offenders, and providing counseling and other support for victims. Sexual harassment is defined by the perception of the victim and not the perpetrator and includes “sexually charged” language or behavior that humiliates or offends a worker or demands for a “quid pro quo” from the employee so that the rejection of sexual gestures or requests for sexual favors negatively affects a worker’s terms of employment. Employers that violate their legal obligations regarding sexual harassment may be subject to fines and imprisonment.
Under amendments to the Gender Equality Employment and Work-Family Balance Support Act that took effect in 2018, employers:
- must investigate all sexual harassment complaints, even if the alleged harasser is a client or customer;
- may not dismiss—or cause harm to—the victim and/or the employee who reported the incident; and
- must conduct annual workplace training to prevent sexual harassment.
If the employer discovers that sexual harassment has occurred in the workplace, it must take appropriate measure to protect the victim, including offering him or her a change or workplace or paid leave. Employers that cause harm to the victim and/or the employee who reported the incident face stiffer penalties, including a possible prison sentence of up to three years.
Harassment
All employers must address in their rules of employment their strategy for preventing and dealing with occurrences of workplace harassment. Employers with ten or more employees must prepare rules of employment that address certain topics and file them with the Ministry of Employment and Labor. Employers that punish or retaliate against a victim or other employee for reporting workplace harassment face penalties of up to three years in prison or fines of 30 million won.
Reference Citations
Nondiscrimination: Labor Standards Act, No. 12,325 of 1997 (as amended), art. 6 (Korean)
Disability Discrimination: Act on the Prohibition of Discrimination on Disabled Persons (as amended), art. 11
Age Discrimination: Act on Age Discrimination Prohibition in Employment and Aged Employment Promotion, No. 4,487 of 1991 (as amended), art. 4-4
Gender Discrimination: Act on Equal Employment and Support for Work-Family Reconciliation, No. 9,975 of 2009 (as amended), art. 12; Equal Employment Opportunity and Work-Family Balance Assistance Act, No. 13932, 2016, art. 12
Employee Privacy
Employee Data
Employers must gain employees’ consent prior to processing their personal information. Employers do not need to obtain consent when the processing is required by statute or when it is necessary to enter into a contract with the employee.
Prior to processing personal data, employers must notify the employee about:
- why the information is being collected and what it will be used for,
- what information will be collected,
- how long the information will be retained, and
- the employee’s right to refuse to give consent and the consequences of such refusal.
Employees have the right to request that the data be corrected or deleted and that the data collection be suspended.
Employee Monitoring and Surveillance
When planning to conduct video monitoring, an employer must do more than simply provide notice to employees even if legitimate cause exists. In all cases, employers must gain workers’ express consent and clearly inform them about the scope of the monitoring and how it will be carried out.
Monitoring emails without employee consent is a probable violation of law.
Reference Citations
Employee Data: Act on Promotion of Information and Communication Network Utilization and Information Protection, 2009
Compensation
Hours of Work
The standard workday is eight hours and the standard workweek is 40 hours, although the law allows for flexible work-hour arrangements. Employers may require employees to exceed the standard number of work hours in a day or week without having to pay overtime, provided that the average number of weekly hours over a two-week period does not exceed 40 and that neither workweek exceeds 48 hours. Under a new law passed in 2018 the maximum number of weekly work hours is 52, consisting of 40 regular hours and 12 overtime hours.
Employees get one day off per week with pay. The weekly holiday is typically Sunday, but there is no requirement that it be.
Employees are entitled to unpaid breaks of 30 minutes for every four work hours and of one hour for every eight work hours.
Under a Working Hours Savings System, employees can take leave in lieu of compensation for their hours spent on extended holiday or night work or they can work extended holiday or night work hours to make up for hours they use for leave. Employers and worker representatives can work out specific arrangements based on the situation of a particular company.
Employees under the age of 18 may generally work no more than seven hours per day and 40 hours per week, although by agreement with the youth and his or her parents, employers may extend this by one hour per day or six hours per week.
Employers cannot require female employees to work between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. or on holidays without first getting their consent. Employers must obtain consent from both the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the employee to schedule pregnant women or minors to work during those times.
Minimum Wage
From Jan. 2024 to Dec. 31, 2024, the hourly minimum wage is 9,860 won. In 2025, theminimum wage will increase to 10,030 won. The minimum wage, which is applicable to all industries, is decided annually by the labor minister in consultation with the Minimum Wage Council.
Employees who perform night work—defined as work done between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.—must be paid time and a half, although compensatory time off may be provided instead if workers’ representatives agree.
In the event of a temporary shutdown of a business caused by the employer, employees must be paid 70 percent of their average wages. If a suspension is caused by unavoidable circumstances, an employer can ask the Labor Relations Commission to be allowed to make lower payments.
Overtime
Overtime is defined as any hours worked beyond eight in a day or 40 in a week. When hours are averaged over two or more weeks under a flexible work schedule, overtime is defined as hours worked that put employees over an average of 40 a week. Workers get paid time and a half for overtime work of less than eight hours, or 200 percent if eight hours of work are exceeded.
Employers generally cannot require employees to work more than 12 hours of overtime per week, but it is permitted for employees working in some industry sectors if there is a written agreement between an employer and a representative of employees. Within their first year after childbirth, women are prohibited from working more than two hours of overtime per day or six hours per week.
Wage Payment
Wages must be paid on a regular schedule at least once a month directly to employees.
Mandatory Bonuses
Bonuses are not addressed in South Korea’s labor laws.
Reference Citations
Hours of Work: Labor Standards Act, No. 12,325 of 1997 (as amended), arts. 50-55 (Korean); Labor Standards Act Amendments, 2018 (Korean)
Minimum Wage: Minimum Wage Commission
Overtime: Labor Standards Act, No. 12,325 of 1997 (as amended), arts. 53-56 (Korean); Labor Standards Act Amendments, 2018 (Korean)
Wage Payment: Labor Standards Act, No. 12,325 of 1997 (as amended), arts. 43, 46 (Korean)
Benefits
Vacation
Employees who have worked for their employers for at least one year are entitled to 15 days of paid annual leave, and those who have stayed with a company for at least three years are entitled to an additional day of leave for every two years of service. Employees are entitled to 11 days’ paid leave in the first year of employment.
Total days off may not exceed 25 per year. Paid leave is forfeited if not used within one year of being earned unless the failure to use the leave was caused by the employer, and employers are required to begin reminding employees to use their annual leave on July 1 of each year. Employees can be compensated for expired leave days, but only if the employer fails to give the employee three months’ written notice of the expiration.
Employees who work less than 80 percent of the annual workdays—not counting days off due to occupational injuries or diseases or maternity leave—are entitled to one day of annual leave for every month of full attendance at work.
Employees may take advantage of leave days at their own discretion, although an employer may change the leave period if it would seriously interfere with business operations.
Holidays
The government mandates only one paid holiday: Labor Day (May 1). Employers may offer others but are not required to do so.
If the holiday falls on a weekend it is moved to the next workday. Employees who are required to work on public holidays must receive 150 percent of pay for the hours worked.
Beginning Jan. 1, 2020, employers with at least 300 employees will be required to provide additional public holidays for their workers. Employers with at least 30 employees but fewer than 300 employees must provide additional holidays by Jan. 1, 2021, and employers with at least five but fewer than 30 employees must do so by Jan. 1, 2022. The government is planning to conduct a survey of public holidays and is to release additional guidance on which public holidays will be a part of this practice at a later date.
Maternity Leave
Pregnant women are entitled to 90 days of maternity leave, at least half of which must be taken after giving birth. The employer pays a worker on leave regular wages for the first 60 days, after which the Employment Insurance Fund covers the rest if the woman has participated in the fund for at least 180 days by the end of the leave. With slight adjustments depending on the conditions of the pregnancy, these benefits also extend to women who have miscarriages or stillbirths.
Employers must grant female employees who are pregnant with two or more fetuses a total of 120 days of paid maternity leave, of which 60 days must be used after childbirth. Of this leave, 75 days are paid maternity leave, with the final 45 days compensated by the Employment Insurance Fund.
Women with children under 1 year old may take two paid “nursing recesses” per workday, not to exceed 30 minutes each.
Companies with more than 300 female workers or 500 total employees are required to provide child care facilities at the workplace. The government provides loans and subsidies to help with the costs of establishing and running the facilities.
All female workers who are within the first 12 weeks or beyond the 36th week of their pregnancies can reduce their working hours by two hours a day with no reduction in pay. Employees whose normal workday is fewer than eight hours may not request a reduction to a total of fewer than six hours per day. To receive the benefit, the employee must submit to her employer at least three days prior to when her revised schedule would start a medical certificate confirming the period of pregnancy, the time she wants to report to or leave work, and the date she desires her reduced working hours to begin.
Employers are required to grant pregnant women time off for prenatal examinations without loss of pay.
Paternity Leave
Fathers are entitled to ten days of paid paternity leave within the first 90 days after childbirth. The government provides a subsidy for five days of paternity leave. The other five days’s salary are paid by the employer. Paternity leave can be used separately, split into a maximum of two periods.
Sick Leave
Employers are required to pay employees for sick leave only in cases of occupational injury or illness, although many employers choose to offer paid sick leave for nonwork ailments upon receipt of proof of illness from a doctor.
Employers are required to grant a female worker one day of menstruation leave per month upon her request.
Other Leave
Child care leave and reduced working hours. Employees who have a child aged not more than 8 years or in the 2nd or lower grade of an elementary school are eligible for one year of child care leave, per qualifying leave, and a further one year of reduced working hours for childcare, for the same child. Any unused period of childcare may be used instead as a period of reduced hours. Employees receive a wage-replacement subsidy during a child care leave period.
Military service. South Korean men must serve two years of active military duty and are later required to complete periodic training. Employers may not penalize employees for work missed due to military obligations. A “skills-retention subsidy” is given to companies that help veterans who have high school diplomas build on their vocational skills.
Fertility Treatment Leave. Employees are entitled to three days of leave for fertility treatment. Only the first day must be paid. Employers are prohibited from taking disciplinary action against employees who request or take leave for fertility treatment.
Pensions and Social Security
The legal retirement age is 61, rising gradually to 65 by 2033. The National Pension Scheme is a social insurance program financed by equal contributions from employers and employees. Maximum contributions are 9 percent, split equally between the employer and the employee. Workers employed for less than a month or less than 80 hours in a month are exempt from social insurance contributions.
Similarly, health insurance is jointly financed with a 3.26 percent tax on both employers and employees. As with pension contributions, workers employed for less than a month or less than 80 hours in a month are exempt.
Workers’ Compensation
Most employers are required to participate in the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance system, which provides benefits for workers who incur work-related injuries or diseases. Premiums are determined by the Ministry of Employment and Labor based on employers’ accident records.
Proof of employer negligence is not necessary for the granting of compensation, although additional damages may be sought in civil court in cases of negligence. Any awards made in civil court will be deducted from workers’ compensation.
Workers’ compensation is provided to employees who need medical care and/or cannot work as a result of an occupational injury or disease for more than three days. The system covers the costs of medical care, such as examinations and tests, medicine, treatment, surgery, hospitalization and prostheses. During the period of medical treatment, a worker is paid 70 percent of his or her average wage.
Workers who remain disabled after receiving two years of medical care are paid an annuity or a lump sum, the form of the payment and the amount depending on the type and level of disability.
If a worker dies as a result of a work-related accident or disease, survivors receive a lump-sum payment or an annuity, as well as funeral benefits equal to 120 days of the worker’s average wage.
Reference Citations
Vacation: Labor Standards Act, No. 12,325 of 1997 (as amended), art. 60 (Korean)
Holidays: Labor Standards Act, No. 12,325 of 1997 (as amended), art. 56 (Korean); Labor Standards Act Amendments, 2018, (Korean)
Maternity Leave: Labor Standards Act, No. 12,325 of 1997 (as amended), arts. 74-75 (Korean); Act on Equal Employment and Support for Work-Family Reconciliation, No. 3,989 of 1987 (as amended), art. 19
Paternity Leave: Act on Equal Employment and Support for Work-Family Reconciliation, No. 3,989 of 1987 (as amended), arts. 18-19
Sick Leave: Labor Standards Act, No. 12,325 of 1997 (as amended), arts. 73, 79 (Korean)
Workers’ Compensation: Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act, No. 13,323 of 2015 (as amended), art. 52
Labor Relations
In General
Workers have the right to organize and collectively bargain. Any group of two or more employees at a company may form a union to act within the scope of their industry.
If a dispute cannot be resolved through mediation or arbitration, the union must get a majority of members to approve a strike by a direct, secret and unsigned ballot. Companies need not pay striking employees, and employees may not strike to gain pay lost during a previous strike. Striking employees may be replaced with co-workers from within the same company but not by outside or temporary hires. Employers may institute lockouts only in reaction to a strike or other disruptive collective action by a union.
Right to Organize
The Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act of 1997 (TULRAA) provides workers with the right to organize and collectively bargain. Unions are entitled to represent employees for labor-related purposes. Any group of two or more employees at a company may form a union to act within the scope of their industry. Notice must be submitted to the Ministry of Employment and Labor or the local labor authority, and certification must generally take place within three days.
Trade unions must operate under one of two types of arrangements as decided through collective bargaining:
- In an open shop system, participation and membership in a union must be completely voluntary for individual employees. Neither labor nor management must attempt to control an employee’s choice through penalty or coercion.
- In a union shop system, new employees have a prescribed amount of time to join the union. Employers are barred from hiring an employee who is ineligible for union membership. In most businesses operating as union shops, at least two-thirds of employees are union members.
Closed shop unions—those in which companies may hire only employees who are already members of a specific union—are not permitted in South Korea.
Korean labor law recognizes “union pluralism” where more than one labor union represents employees at a business enterprise. The principle of a single bargaining channel still applies, however, and the law establishes procedures to determine which representatives will bargain on behalf of the workers. Multiple trade unions are required to choose a representative trade union to bargain with the employer.
Employers are banned from paying wages to full-time union representatives, although a “paid time off system” allows workers to be paid while conducting union activities permitted under the TULRAA.
Language providing basic standards for working conditions is built into South Korea’s constitution. Constitutional standards and subsequent employment legislation apply to foreign-owned companies and South Korean branches of foreign-owned companies as well as domestic companies.
Works Councils
South Korea’s labor laws do not address works councils.
Dispute Resolution
If a dispute arises and a resolution cannot be reached between union and management, whether through labor-management consultation or private mediation, the parties must take the case to the regional Labor Relations Commission for mediation or arbitration before engaging in any work actions.
If one of the parties requests mediation, the Labor Relations Commission appoints a mediation committee or a single mediator to hear the dispute as soon as possible. The mediation period lasts 10 days for general businesses and 15 days when public services are involved, a period that can be extended by the consent of the parties to up to 20 days for general businesses and 30 days for public services. Agreements reached in mediation have the same effect as collective bargaining agreements.
Requests to the Labor Relations Commission for arbitration must come from both parties, unless a collective agreement allows just one party to make the request. When a request for arbitration is made, industrial actions are prohibited for the next 15 days. The commission appoints an arbitration committee, which rules on the dispute. Rulings can be appealed to the National Labor Relations Commission, but otherwise have the same effect as collective bargaining agreements.
Strikes and Lockouts
Strikes: Before a union can call a strike, it must attempt to settle a dispute through mediation. If no agreement is reached, the union must then get a majority of members to approve a strike by a direct, secret and unsigned ballot.
Violence, subversion and forced participation are prohibited in any union collective action.
Strike activities may not prevent entry to the workplace or interfere with company operations, and safety and maintenance of the workplace must be preserved. Unions may not force employees to strike or keep employees from work during a strike.
Companies need not pay striking employees, and employees may not strike to gain pay lost during a previous strike. In the event of a strike, employees may be replaced with co-workers from within the same company. Outside or temporary hires are not permitted to replace striking workers, except in cases in which essential public services are involved, such as transportation, utilities, medical care, banking or telecommunications. Employee transfers within a company must be temporary, and companies may not contract out work normally done by striking employees.
If collective actions are executed within the law and without violent or subversive acts, unions are not criminally liable for damages sustained during a strike. In the event of violence or subversion, no such civil or criminal immunity exists.
In cases in which essential public services are involved, labor and management must come to an agreement on maintaining minimal services during industrial actions. If they cannot, the parties must ask the regional Labor Relations Commission to make a ruling on the issue. When an action involving essential public services has a major impact on the nation, the labor minister can suspend the action and require the parties to enter into mediation before the National Labor Relations Commission.
Lockouts: Employers may institute lockouts only in reaction to a strike or other disruptive collective action by a union. Employees choosing not to strike must be allowed to work. The only instance in which partial strikes may warrant a lockout is when the operations of the business as a whole are threatened.
During a lockout, employees are barred from entering company property except union offices on the employer’s premises.
Successorship Clauses
Any change in working conditions upon a transfer of ownership or merger must be approved by the employees. The new owner or parent company inherits any claims related to employment unless expressly denied in the transfer contract.
Reference Citations
Right to Organize: Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act, No. 5,310 of 1997 (as amended), art. 1
Dispute Resolution: Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act, No. 5,310 of 1997 (as amended), arts. 47-70
Strikes and Lockouts: Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act, No. 5,310 of 1997 (as amended), arts. 37-46
Safety, Health and Security
In General
Employers are required to observe safety standards, develop workplace safety rules, provide workers with information and training on safety and health issues and prevent health problems that could affect workers. Banking, insurance, education, health, social welfare and industries whose employees are all office workers are exempt from much of this legislation.
Businesses with 100 or more employees must employ one person whose sole responsibility is safety and health and establish an occupational safety and health committee made up of employer and employee representatives to discuss and establish policies on workplace safety and health issues.
Workplace Safety and Health
Employers are required to observe safety standards, develop workplace safety rules, provide workers with information and training on safety and health issues and prevent health problems that could affect workers.
Employees may not work more than six hours per day or 34 hours per week in workplaces designated as having dangerous environments. Employers must require employees to have all relevant permits and licenses associated with dangerous or hazardous work. Employees in these environments are also required to comply with intermittent health checks, including one at the beginning of employment. Women and children under the age of 18 are forbidden from working in dangerous or hazardous environments.
Some businesses, principally those with 100 or more employees, must employ one person whose sole responsibility is safety and health. Employers of this size also must employ a medical doctor if the safety and health officer does not have a medical license and establish an occupational safety and health committee made up of employer and employee representatives to discuss and establish policies on workplace safety and health issues.
Employers must allow safety and health inspectors access to their workplaces to determine if safety improvements are necessary.
Drug and Alcohol Use
The labor code does not address drug or alcohol use.
Reference Citations
Workplace Safety and Health: Labor Standards Act, No. 12,325 of 1997 (as amended), art. 4 (Korean)
Termination
Termination by Employer
Under Korean labor law, employers may not fire, lay off, suspend or transfer a worker, cut a worker’s pay or take other punitive measures against a worker without just cause. Dismissal of employees is difficult and should be avoided as much as possible through careful hiring.
Just cause for termination would include lack of aptitude, continuing unsatisfactory work, debilitating disease, breach of the employment contract, egregiously unacceptable misconduct on the job, misrepresentation about education or work experience, improper relationship with another employee or criminal violation.
Employers must give employees either 30 days’ notice of dismissal or 30 days’ compensation instead of notice. Employers are exempted from the notification requirement in the following cases:
- when employees are hired on a daily basis for a period of less than three months;
- when employees are contracted to work for a fixed period of two months or less;
- when workers are employed on a monthly basis for less than six months;
- when seasonal employees are contracted for a period of six months or less;
- when probationary employees are employed for less than three months;
- when workers cause considerable harm to the business or intentionally damage workplace property; and
- when it is impossible to continue business because of extraordinary circumstances such as natural disaster, armed conflict or bankruptcy.
Incentive programs such as early retirement plans are permissible only if eligibility is based on years of service and not an employee’s position or department.
Employees may not be fired during maternity or occupational injury leave or within 30 days of returning to work from such leave.
Plant Closings and Mass Layoffs
An employer may lay off employees if there is a transfer, acquisition or merger of the business in order to avoid financial difficulties and if every effort to avoid the layoffs has been made. The employer must use fair criteria for the dismissals, give 50 days’ notice of the layoffs to workers’ representatives and hold consultations with them. In the event of layoffs of more than 10 percent of employees, businesses must give 30 days’ notice to the Ministry of Employment and Labor.
After a layoff, if an employer seeks to hire for the same jobs within three years, it must give preference to the laid-off employees.
The Korean government is placing increasing emphasis on prevention of layoffs. Government subsidies are available to companies making efforts to avoid layoffs, and employment subsidy programs reward companies that attempt temporary shutdown, training, suspension of work, reassignment of workers or transformation of a shift work system to avoid layoffs.
If a business is closing because of unavoidable circumstances such as natural disasters, armed conflict or bankruptcy, the employer is not required to give advance notice of employee dismissals.
Payment on Termination
Employees are entitled to severance pay of one month’s salary for each year of employment paid within two weeks of termination of employment.
Unemployment Insurance
Employers and employees split the cost of unemployment insurance. Total premiums are calculated at a rate of 0.9 percent of an employee’s income, and the employer and the employee each pay 0.45 percent. Employers also must contribute to the job stabilization and job capability development program, which is designed to prevent layoffs, promote job creation and provide job training to employees.
Only those involuntarily unemployed who are able to work, are actively seeking employment and have participated in the employment insurance program for at least 180 days may collect unemployment compensation. Workers fired for serious misconduct are not eligible. The benefit is generally 50 percent of a person’s former average wage and is available for 90 to 240 days depending on the beneficiary’s age and participation in the employment insurance program. Extensions of this period are available in some cases.
Reference Citations
Termination by Employer: Labor Standards Act, No. 12,325 of 1997 (as amended), arts. 23-27 (Korean)
Plant Closings and Mass Layoffs: Labor Standards Act, No. 12,325 of 1997 (as amended), arts. 24-25 (Korean)
Payment on Termination: Labor Standards Act, No. 12,325 of 1997 (as amended), art. 13 (Korean)
Personal Taxes
Residency Requirements
An individual is a resident for tax purposes if he or she:
- has lived in Korea for 183 days or more in a year or is employed in an occupation that would generally require residence in South Korea for 183 days or more or
- is accompanied by family and maintains substantial assets in Korea.
Taxable Income
Most foreign employees are required to pay income taxes and a foreign employee surtax, which are typically withheld by the employer. Residents in South Korea are generally taxed on their worldwide income. Individuals resident in Korea for no more than five of the last 10 years, however, are subject to tax only on Korea-sourced income and foreign-sourced income paid in Korea.
Nonresidents are subject to tax only on income derived from sources in South Korea.
Tax Rates
Income tax rates are levied on a progressive scale, with rates ranging from 6 percent to 45 percent.
Nonresident workers are subject to South Korean taxes on income accrued in South Korea only. Nonresidents are subject to the same income tax rates as residents, although they may or may not be eligible for certain exemptions and deductions.
Reference Citations
Residency Requirements: Income Tax Act of the Republic of Korea (Korean)
Tax Rates: Income Tax Act of the Republic of Korea (Korean)
Web References
In English unless otherwise noted.
Law and Regulation
Act on Age Discrimination Prohibition in Employment and Aged Employment Promotion
Act on Equal Employment and Support for Work-Family Reconciliation
Act on the Prohibition of Discrimination on Disabled Persons
Labor Standards Act (Korean)
Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act
Government Websites and Publications
Korea.net: The Official Website of the Republic of Korea
Ministry of Gender Equality & Family
Ministry of Government Legislation
National Labor Relations Commission
National Pension Service