Minimum wage in South Korea 2026: KRW 10,320 an hour

One national rate and the 209-hour month

Korea has no regional or industry minimum wages. The same KRW 10,320 applies in Seoul, Busan and a factory town, and to every size of business. The Minimum Wage Act also allows a reduced rate for some probationary workers; we did not check its terms for this page.

The monthly figure is where foreign employers slip. The commission does not multiply by a 40-hour week alone. It counts 40 working hours plus 8 hours of paid weekly holiday (the weekly holiday allowance, juhyu sudang) for 48 paid hours a week, times 4.345 weeks a month: 48 x 4.345 = 208.56, rounded to 209. A salary built on 40 x 4.345 = 173.8 hours at KRW 10,320 comes to about KRW 1,793,600 and falls short of the KRW 2,156,880 floor.

The 209-hour figure is the commission's own, so you can use it directly when checking a monthly salary for a standard full-time schedule.

Other minimum wage rates in South Korea

South Korea minimum wage history

2026 and 2027 at a glance

The 2027 rate was notified on August 5, 2026, so you already know your January 2027 floor. Every full-time employee paid at the 2026 minimum needs a raise to at least KRW 2,236,300 a month from the first 2027 payroll.

Recent increases: 5.05% for 2022, 5.0% for 2023, 2.5% for 2024, 1.7% for 2025, 2.9% for 2026 and 3.7% for 2027. The tripartite commission usually decides in July, and the minister must notify the rate by August 5 for the following calendar year.

What a minimum-wage employee costs you

Korea's four major insurances are split between employer and employee, and employers must also fund a retirement allowance. Accruing one twelfth of pay each month, 8.33%, is the usual way to budget for it.

The retirement allowance is the line most often missing from foreign budgets. It is required under the Act on the Guarantee of Employees' Retirement Benefits, and a quote that shows only the insurances understates your cost by about KRW 179,668 a month at this wage. The South Korea employer of record guide runs the same math on a KRW 56,000,000 salary, and the employer cost index puts Korea's 18.30% next to other countries.

Paying minimum-wage staff in Korea through an EOR

Without a Korean entity, an employer of record can employ the worker, enroll them in the four insurances and handle the retirement allowance. Published EOR fees run from $99 a month (Native Teams, whose help center says EUR 99) to $699 (Oyster), checked October 16 and 18, 2026, and Deel lists $599. See EOR prices compared. Ask whether the provider funds the retirement allowance through a pension plan or holds it as a liability, and what happens to it if you leave the provider.

Hiring across East Asia? Japan sets 47 prefectural rates instead of one: see the Japan minimum wage by prefecture. China sets rates city by city: see China's minimum wage tiers. Model a full monthly bill with the international cost calculator.