South Korea

• New Year’s Day
• Korean New Year
• March 1st Movement
• Labour Day
• Children’s Day
• Buddha’s Birthday
• Memorial Day
• Liberation Day
• Harvest Festival
• National Foundation Day
• Hangeul Day
• Christmas Day.

Working Hours

In South Korea, the standard work week is 40 hours a week over five days.

Minimum Wage

South Korea’s minimum wage may be fixed on an hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly basis. The following minimum wage rates are in effect for 2024:

• the hourly minimum wage is KRW 9,860;
• the daily minimum wage is KRW 78,880; and
• the monthly minimum wage is KRW 2,060,740.

Effective 1 January 2025, the minimum wage will increase to KW 10,030 per hour; KW 80,240 daily minimum; and KW 2,096,270 monthly minimum.

Employee Tax

Contribution	Employee Rate	Income Cap
National Pension	4.5%	Applied on income up to KRW 6,170,000 per month
National Health Insurance	4.004%	Applied on income up to KRW 9,579,760 per month
Unemployment Insurance	0.90%	None

Bonuses

High performing staff are often awarded with significant bonuses, but there are no statutory bonus schemes in South Korea.

In South Korea, all contracts must state the applicable wages, hours, holidays, paid leave and working conditions. Contract format varies from company to company.

Fixed term contracts are allowed but must not exceed two years.

Annual Leave

During the first year of employment, employees are entitled to 11 days of paid annual leave.

From the second year of employment, the entitlement is 15 days of paid leave per year. An additional one day of paid leave is accrued for each additional two years of service, up to a maximum entitlement of 25 days.

Sick Leave

Employers are required to provide paid leave for work-related illnesses or injuries, but there is no legal requirement to provide paid sick leave to employees for non-work-related illnesses or injuries.

It is not uncommon for companies to provide paid sick leave whether or not an injury or illness is job-related. Employees may use their annual paid leave as sick days if paid sick leave is not available.

Parental Leave

Paternity leave of three paid days and two unpaid days is offered.

• Maternity leave: Employees are entitled to paid maternity leave for 90 days. The maternity leave can be used before or after childbirth provided that at least 45 days are used after childbirth. The statutory days of maternity leave include holidays and Sundays. In certain cases, the duration of the maternity leave is extended as follows:
• Premature births- 100 days.
• Multiple births- 120 days.
• Paternity leave: Employees are entitled to 20 days of paid paternity leave, which should be taken within 120 days after a child’s birth. The employees can use the paternity leave up to three (3) instalments.
• Parental leave: Employers must provide a one-year leave of absence for childcare (not including the days of paid maternity leave used after childbirth in the case of a female employee) for any male or female employee with a child under the age of 8 and/or who is in 2nd grade or lower of an elementary school. From February 2025, parental leave will be extended from one-year to one-year and six months.
• Infertility leave: Employees are entitled to six days per year for infertility leave. Two days are fully paid by the employer, while four are unpaid.

Termination Process

In South Korea, dismissal without a justifiable reason is not permitted. Justifiable reasons make it impossible for an employer to maintain the employment relationship. Even if there is a justifiable reason for dismissal, an employer cannot fire a worker in the event of:

• Temporary interruption of work for medical treatment of an occupational injury or disease and 30 days thereafter;
• Maternity leave and 30 days thereafter.

An employer must give 30 days’ notice (or the equivalent compensation) before dismissal.

Severance Pay

Unless it has established a retirement pension plan, every company with one or more employees must pay statutory separation pay to any departing employee who has worked at a given company for at least one year, regardless of the reason for dismissal.

The legal minimum severance pay is 30 days' average wages for each consecutive year of service.

Severance pay must be issued within 14 days of the employee’s termination date unless the time is extended by mutual agreement.

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