Severance Pay Eligibility, Calculation, and Unpaid-Wage Response Guide
A guide organized according to official statutes, explaining whether foreign workers are eligible for severance pay when leaving a job in Korea, how to confirm average wage and continuous service period, and where to report non-payment.
Direct answer
A guide organized according to official statutes, explaining whether foreign workers are eligible for severance pay when leaving a job in Korea, how to confirm average wage and continuous service period, and where to report non-payment.
- How far this is checked
- Partly verified — confirm the details with the official sources below before you act.
Sources
Official · Verified · notes
Sources · 7
Task
Labor
Visa
All visas
Program
General
Region
Nationwide
Verification status:
verified_with_warningsAs of: 2026-06-19 Direct AI answers: disabled. The conclusion can change depending on worker status, continuous service period, weekly contractual working hours, the average-wage calculation period, the retirement pension account, residence status, and workplace records, so confirmation with the Ministry of Employment and Labor (고용노동부) or a labor affairs specialist is required.
This document covers retirement benefits received as severance pay and retirement pension. For the National Pension lump-sum refund, see work/pension-refund separately.
Key Summary
| Question | What to check first by official standard |
|---|---|
| Can I receive it? | Whether the continuous service period is 1 year or more, and whether the average weekly contractual working hours over 4 weeks is 15 hours or more |
| How much is it? | For each year of the continuous service period, 30 days' worth or more of average wage |
| When should I receive it? | Within 14 days from the date the cause for payment (retirement, etc.) arises. May be extended by agreement between the parties if there are special circumstances |
| Where do I receive it? | In principle, transferred to an Individual Retirement Pension (IRP) account, etc., designated by the worker |
| By when must I claim it? | The right to receive severance pay is extinguished by prescription if not exercised for 3 years |
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