The Hardest Market ยท South Korea
South Korea's HR data
The rules and costs of employing people in South Korea (Seoul), from official sources, in English and Japanese.
Every KOSPI and KOSDAQ company discloses its employees, average tenure and average pay by gender in its annual business report. See them by industry and in rankings. See the employers
Employment rules
| Statutory annual leave | 15 days after 1 year, +1 per 2 years, max 25 |
|---|---|
| Public holidays (2026) | 22 days |
| Notice of dismissal | 30 days (or pay in lieu); none under 3 months' service |
| Severance required by law | Retirement pay: 30 days' wages per year, on any exit |
| Typical negotiated exit | No official benchmark |
| Probation | No statutory period; 3 months typical |
| Working hours | 40h/week + max 12h overtime |
| How hard is dismissal? | Hard: justifiable cause; LRC reinstatement claims |
Employer contributions
| National Pension | 4.75% |
|---|---|
| National Health Insurance | 3.6% |
| Long-term care insurance | 0.47% |
| Employment insurance (unemployment 0.9% + employment security and vocational training 0.65%) | 1.55% |
| Industrial accident compensation insurance | 0.66% |
| Retirement benefit accrual (severance pay / DC pension) | 8.33% |
Employee contributions
| National Pension | 4.75% |
|---|---|
| National Health Insurance | 3.6% |
| Long-term care insurance | 0.47% |
| Employment insurance (unemployment benefits) | 0.9% |
Take-home pay and employer cost by monthly salary
| Monthly salary | Employee contributions | Income tax | Take-home | Employer cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| โฉ3,500,000 | โฉ340,109 | โฉ165,211 | โฉ2,994,680 | โฉ4,177,625 |
| โฉ5,000,000 | โฉ485,870 | โฉ372,894 | โฉ4,141,236 | โฉ5,968,035 |
| โฉ7,500,000 | โฉ680,355 | โฉ880,053 | โฉ5,939,592 | โฉ8,903,603 |
| โฉ12,000,000 | โฉ903,888 | โฉ2,288,749 | โฉ8,807,363 | โฉ14,061,084 |
A single Korean national employee in Seoul, no dependants, tax resident, salary paid evenly as monthly pay with no bonus and no non-taxable allowances (e.g. the KRW 200,000/month meal allowance), calendar year 2026. Deductions claimed: earned income deduction, basic personal deduction, National Pension and the health, long-term care and employment insurance premiums only; no credit-card, housing, insurance, medical, education or donation items. Employer: office-type business (professional services) with 150-999 employees, not an SME priority-support firm. Retirement benefit accrued at 1/12 of salary.
Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] Checked 2026-11-07; 2026 rates.