Korea Minimum Wage and Overtime Pay Guide
A guide summarizing what to watch out for when checking the official 2025–2026 minimum wage and overtime, night-work, and holiday-work pay.
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A guide summarizing what to watch out for when checking the official 2025–2026 minimum wage and overtime, night-work, and holiday-work pay.
- How far this is checked
- Partly verified — confirm the details with the official sources below before you act.
Sources
Task
Labor
Visa
All visas
Program
General
Region
Nationwide
This guide is a safe checklist that foreigners working in Korea can look at first when checking the minimum wage, overtime work, night work, and holiday work.
Wage calculation varies depending on the employment contract, actual working hours, the size of the workplace, break time, comprehensive wage agreements (포괄임금 약정), and deduction items. This document is not a calculator, and to determine whether wages have actually been withheld, check with the Ministry of Employment and Labor (고용노동부) 1350 or a labor affairs specialist, using your pay statement and work records.
Official Minimum Wage for 2025–2026
Based on the year-by-year minimum wage determination status published by the Minimum Wage Commission (최저임금위원회).
| Application period | Hourly wage | Daily wage (8 hours) | Monthly wage (209 hours, notification basis) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-01-01 ~ 2025-12-31 | ₩10,030 | ₩80,240 | ₩2,096,270 |
| 2026-01-01 ~ 2026-12-31 | ₩10,320 | ₩82,560 | ₩2,156,880 |
The monthly conversion is based on 209 hours. If you simply calculate "22 days × 8 hours," it will not match the official monthly converted amount.
How to Check the Minimum Wage
- Check the wage items in your employment contract.
- Record your actual working hours and break time separately.
- Check the basic pay, allowances, and deduction items on your pay statement.
- If you are paid hourly, divide the amount paid by the actual paid hours to check whether it is lower than the minimum wage.
- If you are paid monthly, whether fixed allowances are included in the minimum wage may vary, so do not look only at the total monthly wage amount.
Overtime, Night-Work, and Holiday-Work Pay
The Labor Standards Act (근로기준법) sets minimum standards regarding working hours, holidays, and wages. The Ministry of Employment and Labor's English guidance also explains that the Labor Standards Act sets the standards for working conditions such as wages, working hours, holidays, and leave.
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